Royal Dutch Shell and BP have signed deals to supply Kuwait with liquefied natural gas (LNG) over the next few years, a Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC) official was quoted as saying on Sunday.

Kuwait began importing LNG in 2009 and signed deals for Shell and Swiss-based trader Vitol to supply it during the peak power demand period from April to October over the last four summers.

Jamal Al-Loughani, deputy director of marketing at KPC, told the Kuwaiti Al-Seyassah newspaper that Shell and BP have been contracted to supply the OPEC member country over the next 5-6 summers.

He said the total volume of super-cooled gas to be delivered between the two companies would be around 2.5 million tonnes a year.

Kuwait will sign another contract to buy LNG from a third company later this week, he said, without elaborating.

Surging air conditioning demand in the hot Middle Eastern summer and a lack of domestic supply means Kuwait needs to import more gas each year to feed its power plants.