The UK is set to finalise a major gas deal with the US after the COP27 climate change conference in Egypt this month.

The UK is expected to finalise a major gas deal with the US after the COP27 climate change conference in Egypt this month. According to The Telegraph, the US plans to sell billions of cubic meters of liquefied natural gas to the UK over the coming year as the deal reaches its final stages. The confirmation announcement could be made within the next couple of weeks.

In line with the massive agreement made between Centrica and Equinor earlier this year, Downing Street anticipates that the arrangement will secure about 10 billion cubic metres of gas. For comparison, the US promised the entire European Union (EU) 15 billion cubic metres this spring.

The changes come in the wake of ongoing concerns about supply shortages this year due to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, with National Grid issuing a worst-case scenario of rolling blackouts.

Despite the increased momentum behind renewable energy generation, gas continues to play a significant role in the UK's energy mix.

It is still utilised to produce roughly 40% of the power used in the UK and to heat about 85% of all homes.

The economic effects of rising gas prices brought on by soaring post-pandemic demand and a Russian supply crunch on Europe have been devastating, and governments throughout the West have been obliged to spend billions in order to protect consumers from the impacts.

Pipes from Norway and the UK side of the North Sea provide the majority of the UK's supply, although this resource is currently decreasing.

As a result, LNG supplies from allies like the US and Qatar have become more significant, covering 17% of the UK's gas consumption in the previous year.

With the heightened emphasis on green energy during COP 27 and recent projections that LNG produces 10 times the emissions of ordinary pipeline gas, Labour will probably criticise the decision to sign a new deal.

It also comes after the government's decision to reinstate the fracking ban and its ambiguity on upcoming planning regulations for residential onshore wind and solar installations.

At the meeting earlier this week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak encouraged world leaders to "honour" their commitments to combating climate change.

What’s next: Norway and Qatar deals?

Former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss and US President Joe Biden, have already spoken about the agreement.

Downing Street apparently abandoned preparations to announce a deal on October 21 after Truss announced her resignation the day before.

However, despite the fundamental outline of the package having been agreed upon weeks prior and being constant under both Prime Ministers, UK officials in Washington have continued to seek the agreement.

Currently, it is unclear how much of the gas, which will be sold by US firms rather than the US government, will be in the UK system for this winter. This may be dependable on negotiated agreements with private corporations.

The UK is independently pursuing ‘mega deals’ to import more LNG from Qatar and Norway, which have the ability to overshadow the US deal in terms of volume.

(Sources: cityam.com, bbc.co.uk)