RasGas Company Limited (RasGas) announced that Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited (3) (RL 3) has entered into a new Liquefied Natural Gas Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with French energy company, EDF SA (EDF). The agreement was signed by Mr. Hamad Mubarak Al Muhannadi, RasGas Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and Mr Marc Benayoun, EDF Group Senior Executive, Vice President Gas & Italy and CEO of Edison.

Under the terms of the SPA, RL 3 will deliver, starting in 2017 and over the medium term, up to 2 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of Qatari LNG into EDF’s new terminal in Dunkerque, France. This new agreement complements three existing long term SPAs between RasGas ventures and EDF Group subsidiaries, for delivery of up to 4.6 Mtpa to Edison in Italy and up to ~3.5 Mtpa to EDF Trading in Belgium.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Hamad Mubarak Al Muhannadi said: “This latest agreement is an excellent example of RasGas’ continued commitment to develop and execute opportunities that respond to our customer’s needs. We are proud that, together with EDF, we have played a significant role in continuing to provide a safe and reliable supply of energy to the homes, businesses and communities of Europe.”

Mr Marc. Benayoun said: “This agreement with RasGas reflects EDF’s growing interest in the LNG markets. The Group is proud to add this significant contract to its global LNG portfolio and to reach a new important milestone in the excellent relationship with RasGas, who already delivers LNG cargoes to the Group under long term contracts in both Rovigo and Zeebrugge terminals. At a time when Dunkerque LNG is due to receive its first commissioning cargo early July, this new contract demonstrates Dunkerque LNG’s outstanding position in the North West European gas markets.”

About RasGas

RasGas Company Limited (RasGas) is a Qatari joint stock company established in 2001 by Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil RasGas Inc. RasGas acts as the operating company for and on behalf of the owners of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects RL, RL (II) and RL3 (Project Owners). With operations facilities based in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar, RasGas’ principal activities are to extract, process, liquefy, store and export LNG and its derivatives from Qatar’s North Field. RasGas, on behalf of the Project Owners, exports to countries across Asia, Europe and the Americas. It has a total LNG production capacity of approximately 37 million tonnes per annum.

For pipeline sales gas to the domestic market, RasGas also operates the Al Khaleej Gas Projects, AKG-1 and AKG-2 supplying approximately 2.0 billion standard cubic feet (Bscf) per day. RasGas is currently adding production capacity by managing the construction of the Barzan Gas Project, which when fully operational, is expected to supply approximately 1.4 Bscf of additional sales gas per day to the Qatari market to meet growing demand for energy at power stations and downstream industries.

RasGas currently operates the Ras Laffan Helium Plant which was established in 2003 and came on stream in 2005. The plant extracts, purifies and liquefies helium from the North Field. The second helium plant entered production in June 2013 bringing the total liquid Helium production capacity to 1.96 Bscf per year.

About EDF Trading

EDF Trading is a leader in the international wholesale energy markets. It manages a portfolio of assets which give it the ability to source, supply, transport, store, blend and convert physical commodities around the world. These capabilities enable EDF Trading to deliver essential asset optimisation services, risk management and wholesale market access to the EDF Group and its third party customers, helping them to realise the value inherent in their asset portfolios.

EDF Trading is active in the electricity, natural gas, LNG, LPG, coal and freight and environmental products markets. It is one of the largest wholesale market traders in Europe for power and gas and one of the leading marketers of gas and power in the US. Its subsidiary, EDF Energy Services is one of the main providers of generation services for power generation companies in the US and a leading US energy retailer for large commercial and industrial customers.

EDF Trading is a 100% owned subsidiary of EDF, the world’s biggest electricity generator.

About EDF

EDF is a leader in the European energy market. The company deals with electric power generation, transmission and distribution as well as is involved in the gas sector.