BP to buy Nigerian LNG

Oil major BP Plc has agreed to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the new Brass project in Nigeria to help meet growing demand in the U.K. and the U.S. The deal, to be finalized later this year, is for annual shipment of two million tons of LNG for 20 years starting in 2010. The Nigerian gas will be delivered by Brass LNG and used by BP, one of the world's largest suppliers of LNG, to supply multiple markets in the Atlantic basin. Demand for imported LNG, gas cooled for easy transport by tanker, is booming as Europe and the United States turn to the fuel to compensate for falling local gas production. The Brass LNG project is backed by Italian oil and gas company Eni, U.S. oil majors Chevron and ConocoPhillips and state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. It is expected to export an initial 10 million tons a year of LNG. Brass LNG earlier this month signed a similar agreement with British oil and gas producer BG. (Source: Reuters)