Energy provider Centrica, which owns British Gas, said Monday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Qatar to explore further co-operation in oil and gas investments. Centrica, which inked a major deal earlier this year to secure liquefied natural gas supplies from Qatar, said in a statement that the pair would seek to deepen and extend their relationship.
"The partnership will enable us to jointly develop significant energy investments that will further boost the long-term security of the UK's gas supply," said Centrica Chief Executive Sam Laidlaw in the statement. "We will also explore joint opportunities to deploy capital and expertise in other markets to deliver growth and value for the group."
Investment targets would include new or existing projects in upstream oil and gas including liquefied natural gas, gas storage and combined-cycle gas turbine generation assets and downstream opportunities. Back in February, Centrica signed a £2-billion deal with Qatargas for the supply of 2.4 million tonnes a year of gas over three years to Britain. The Qatar memorandum, meanwhile, comes two weeks after Centrica announced a North Sea agreement with Norway's Statoil to help protect Britain's gas security over a 10-year period starting in 2015.