UK seeks long-term gas deal with Qatar

The British government has approached Qatar to seek a long-term gas deal and shore up supplies as a natural gas shortage in Europe has led to soaring wholesale prices, the Financial Times .

British ministers and their counterparts from the world’s largest producer of liquefied natural gas have held talks over a long-term arrangement where Qatar would become a “supplier of last resort,” the newspaper reported, citing people briefed on the discussions.

UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and the Qatari government did not immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for a comment on Friday.

Qatar has also rerouted four large tankers to the UK over the past two weeks, the report added.

The shipments were made after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson asked Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the Qatari emir, for help at a recent meeting, FT said, citing a person familiar with the talks.