Britain's Centrica will take delivery of the biggest cargo of liquefied natural gas ever to come to Britain when the Al Khuwair arrives from Qatar this month, the owner of British Gas said on Sunday.
There is nearly 50 million therms of super-cooled gas from Qatar's Rasgas on board the vessel, enough to supply around 4.5 million homes for a week. It will be used to commission the newly-expanded Isle of Grain import terminal in Kent, Centrica said, and should arrive in early November, according to ship tracking data on Reuters.
"LNG will play an increasingly important role in maintaining supplies for British Gas customers as North Sea production declines," Sam Laidlaw, chief executive of Centrica, said in a statement ahead of a trade visit to Qatar led by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.