As a result, short-term gas prices in Britain, France and Spain have tumbled to as little as a third of those in markets including the Netherlands and Germany,

The ongoing European energy crisis and its impact on economies across the region has seen unprecedented diplomacy efforts to secure a more stable energy supply, and Qatar has repeatedly said it stands ready to help its partners.

The new pact, inked during a Qatari state visit to Germany, comes as Berlin looks to fast-track a number of new LNG import terminals to reduce its dependence on Russian gas imports.

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has made it clear for all actors in Germany: diversification of gas imports is urgently needed.

The monthly import profile for April, which following European wholesale front-month trade in March, saw sourcing from all parts of the world intensify, with Europe comfortably receiving its highest-ever volume for a single month. This was, however, paid for at a high price.

Global LNG import volumes reached 372.3 million tons, a rise of 16.2 million tons from 2020,

"We will cooperate to reduce Europe's dependency on energy supplies from Russia and to ensure diversification of energy supply sources, and acknowledge the need for investments to achieve this."

China’s LNG imports averaged 10.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), a 19% increase compared with 2020.

Technip’s involvement in Arctic LNG 2 is likely to be sharply cut beyond June.

The contract, whose price is indexed on gas traded in Louisiana (United States) will start in 2025 and is expected to cover around 3% of South Korea's annual gas consumption.