Gandhinagar, Jun 3 (IANS): Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) and Gazprom Marketing and Trading Singapore (GM&TS) - the Singapore affiliate of Gazprom Global LNG (GGLNG), have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the supply of up to 2.5 million tonnes of LNG to the state, a statement said Thursday.

"Following the successful signing in January this year of a structured deal to supply 0.3 million tonnes a year of LNG for the next two years, GSPC and Gazprom are now exploring the possibility of building further on this mutually beneficial relation. This MOU represents another significant step towards building upon the already strong relation between GSPC and Gazprom," said Tapan Ray, managing director of GSPC.

"We believe securing sufficient long term LNG supplies is imperative for meeting the growing energy needs of our country," he added.

Nigel Kuzemko, GGLNG's Singapore-based director (LNG Development) said: "This deal provides both parties with the possibility to further enhance our relationship. We see tremendous value in establishing a long term alliance with GSPC as they provide access to one of the major gas demand centres in India."