Qatar Petroleum has signed a deal with the UK’s National Grid booking up to 7.2 million tons per annum of capacity at the Grain LNG terminal in Kent.
The pair have signed a 25-year deal with Qatar Petroleum having the capacity available from mid-2025, it said in a statement on Tuesday.
The agreement marks the conclusion of Grain LNG’s competitive Open Season process, which started in November 2019, the statement reads.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi , the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, president and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, noted the company is reaffirming its commitment to the UK’s gas market.
Jon Butterworth , National Grid Ventures’ managing director added that LNG plays a critical role in securing UK’s gas needs.
He noted that the agreement secures the future for the facility.
Located on the UK’s southeast coast in Kent, the Isle of Grain LNG Terminal commenced operations in 2005 and is regulated by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem).
The terminal is currently able to store and deliver enough gas to meet at least 25 per cent of the UK’s gas demand. It has 1,000,000 cubic meters of LNG storage capacity spread across 8 tanks and an annual throughput capacity of 20 billion cubic meters of natural gas.
National Grid Grain LNG operates the facility.
The agreement will allow National Grid to expand its facilities with, amongst others, an additional tank and associated vaporizer capacity, bringing its future annual throughput capacity to 25 billion cubic meters of natural gas.