ANKARA

Qatar Energy and ConocoPhillips signed an agreement for the sale of Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Germany, according to the state news agency QNA on Tuesday.

Under the 15-year agreement signed between Qatar Energy and ConocoPhillips, over 2 million tons of LNG will be supplied to Germany, with the first shipment scheduled for 2026.

"Qatar separates trade from politics. Today, an agreement was reached with a US company to sell liquefied gas to Germany," Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the minister of state for energy affairs in Qatar, was quoted as saying.

Germany is attempting to replace lost Russian gas supplies with other resources and LNG, for which several terminals are being constructed on the North and Baltic Seas.

Qatar, a leading LNG exporter with the third-largest gas reserves in the world after Russia and Iran, has recently signed a long-term gas deal with China.

Disagreements over key conditions such as contract lengths and pricing have overshadowed talks between Germany and Qatar over long-term LNG deals as Berlin seeks to replace supplies from Russia, which was its largest gas supplier before the conflict in Ukraine began in February.

Before the start of the war in Ukraine, Russia supplied 55% of Germany’s natural gas.

*Writing by Ebru Sengul Cevrioglu