Kuwait, April 13 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell andBP have signed deals to supply Kuwait with liquefiednatural gas (LNG) over the next few years, a Kuwait PetroleumCorp. (KPC) official was quoted as saying on Sunday.
Kuwait began importing LNG in 2009 and signed deals forShell and Swiss-based trader Vitol to supply it during the peakpower demand period from April to October over the last foursummers.
Jamal Al-Loughani, deputy director of marketing at KPC, toldthe Kuwaiti Al-Seyassah newspaper that Shell and BP have beencontracted to supply the OPEC member country over the next 5-6summers.
He said the total volume of super-cooled gas to be deliveredbetween the two companies would be around 2.5 million tonnes ayear.
Kuwait will sign another contract to buy LNG from a thirdcompany later this week, he said, without elaborating.
Surging air conditioning demand in the hot Middle Easternsummer and a lack of domestic supply means Kuwait needs toimport more gas each year to feed its power plants.
(Reporting by Sylvia Westall and Reem Shamseddine; editing byKeiron Henderson)
