State-owned Qatargas will double the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Poland’s gas firm PGNiG to 2m tons/y as part of efforts to strengthen the bilateral economic and trade relations between Qatar and the European country, Gulf Times informed.

According to Reuters, the agreement comes as Poland is struggling to reduce its reliance on supplies of Russian gas, while a deepening global gas glut offers opportunities to bring in cheap LNG from Qatar and elsewhere.

The new deal, which is a side agreement to a long term-contract PGNiG and Qatargas signed in 2009, will come into effect in January 2018 and run until June 2034. Details regarding the pricing of additional supplies were not furnished.

On the terms set in 2009, the companies agreed that Qatargas would deliver to Poland around 1m tons/y or around 1.5bcm/y of gas for 20 years starting from 2014.

At the time, PGNiG estimated the deal’s annual average value at around $550m, based on prevailing oil prices.