Qatargas 3 has entered into a new long term LNG Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Tohoku Electric, under which the Qatari LNG major will supply liquefied natural gas to the Japanese firm.  
Under the terms of the SPA, Qatargas 3 will deliver LNG to Tohoku Electric for a period of 15 years beginning 2016, building up to a plateau volume of 0.18mn tonnes per year (tpy) from 2019.
The LNG will be supplied from Qatargas 3 (Train 6), a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum, ConocoPhillips and Mitsui & Company, which started production in January 2010, and will be delivered on board Q-Flex LNG vessels.
The agreement was signed by HE the Minister of Energy and Industry, Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada, also Qatargas 3 chairman and Makoto Kaiwa, representative director and president of Tohoku Electric.
Al-Sada welcomed the agreement and described it as “another contribution towards global energy security.”
“This agreement reinforces our strong relationship with one of Qatargas’ foundation customers and demonstrates our continued commitment to long-term LNG supplies to Japan. As the largest LNG producing company in the world, Qatargas is committed to providing reliable energy supplies to all four corners of the world,” al-Sada said.
Qatargas chief executive officer Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa al-Thani said: “Today, we have achieved a significant milestone in our excellent partnership with Tohoku Electric, which started in 1994 when we signed an agreement with a consortium of Japanese buyers, including Tohoku Electric. This agreement is further testimony of our long-term commitment to Japan and reinforces Qatargas’ global reputation as a safe and reliable supplier of LNG.  We remain committed to supporting Japan’s continuous requirement for stable energy supplies.”
Tohoku Electric is one of the original eight Japanese buyers, which signed contracts with the Qatargas 1 joint venture in 1994. In December 2007, Tohoku Electric became the first Japanese utility company to receive a cargo of LNG on-board a Q-Flex vessel.  
Following the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011 that severely affected the Tohoku Region, Qatargas supplied increased volumes of LNG to Tohoku Electric to help meet the region’s demand for stable and reliable supplies of energy.