Qatar has signed two agreements to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to energy firms E.ON and RWE Power in Germany, a report said.

“Qatar is seeking to strengthen its position as the world’s largest LNG exporter and develop the area of renewables. Germany wants to diversify its gas supply sources and transport routes, and to share its high level of technical expertise in renewable advancements,” Matthias Machnig, German State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, was quoted as saying in the Gulf Times report.

“We welcome the supply agreement that had been setup between companies from Germany and Qatar. Indeed, this is the first time that a German company has concluded a supply contract for LNG from Qatar. I would be pleased if more such contracts would be concluded between our two countries,” he added.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Qatari-German Business Forum in Doha, Qatar, he said one of the companies will start receiving LNG probably in the beginning of 2018.

“We are building LNG terminals in Germany and they will import LNG from Qatar and other parts of the world. It’s an ongoing project, which is expected to be commissioned in two years,” he noted.

According to Machnig, about 20 per cent to 30 per cent of Germany’s energy supplies come from gas, and more than 30 per cent of the country’s electricity is produced by renewables.

“We used to have 21 nuclear plants and that has already come down to nine, and these will be phased out by 2022. We are going to reduce coal as well, so the main resources for energy in the future will be gas and renewables,” he pointed out.

Machnig said trade between Germany and Qatar amounted to €2.6 billion ($2.8 billion) in 2015. From January to September 2016, volumes stood at €2.2 billion. Over the same period, Germany’s exports to Qatar grew by 30 per cent reaching €1.9 million, he said.

Qatar Businessmen Association chairman Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani said trade between Qatar and Germany increased by more than 33 per cent in the first half of 2016 to reach QR6 billion ($1.64 billion). “And we expect trade to reach more than QR10 billion in the future,” he added.