Qatar Petroleum (QP) and the UAE’s Dolphin Energy have signed a new long-term agreement for the supply of gas from Qatar to the UAE’s northern emirates.

The gas will be supplied via Dolphin Energy’s undersea pipeline, which began transporting gas from Qatar for consumption in the UAE and Oman in 2007.

“QP will deliver additional quantities of gas to Dolphin for export to the UAE through the existing 48-inch subsea pipeline,” QP said in a statement.

The agreement was announced by QP and the UAE’s official government Emirates News Agency (Wam) but neither disclosed the length of the agreement of any details on pricing and volumes.

The deal enacted in 2007 covers the supply of 2 billion cubic feet a day (cf/d) of gas from the Qatar to the UAE and Oman.

Last year Dolphin completed an upgrade of its compression facilities in Ras Laffan, Qatar, to allow its gas processing plant to deliver the full 3.2 billion cf/d of gas that the pipeline has the capacity to deliver.

The UAE reportedly purchases gas under the existing agreement at prices significantly lower than market rates. The two countries have since been negotiating on prices for the potential 1.2 billion cf/d of additional supplies.

It is unclear whether the new agreement will allow the pipeline to operate at full capacity.

MEED reported in 2014 that Qatar was sending additional volumes of gas to the UAE on a short-term basis.

The gas will be supplied to Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority and Ras al-Khaimah Gas Commission through the eastern gas distribution of the UAE, Wam reported.

The UAE had long relied on associated gas for use in power plants and industry but in 2007 became a net gas importer as domestic consumption overtook supply.

Dolphin pipeline imports, non-associated gas developments, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports have been used to plug the supply-demand gap.

In August Abu Dhabi received the emirate’s first floating terminal for the import of LNG. It is expected to increase the supply of gas during peak summer consumption periods.