The UK and the US are in the final stages of agreeing on a deal to supply the kingdom with large quantities of liquefied natural gas (LNG) next year. The Daily Telegraph reported Monday that new British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak may announce the deal as early as the next few days.

According to the newspaper, the U.S.-British energy security partnership provides for the sale of up to 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas in liquefied form to Britain. The authors of the article note that the exact volume of supplies is still under discussion, but the final figure may not be announced publicly.

The United Kingdom has been negotiating for months with gas-supplying nations, including Qatar and Norway, hoping to avoid energy shortages threatened by winter blackouts. According to The Daily Telegraph, LNG supplies from the United States were personally discussed with White House chief Joe Biden by Sunak's predecessor as prime minister, Liz Truss.

As of 2021, nearly half of the gas reaching the U.K. market was produced from the British North Sea shelf. Norway is the largest exporter of gas to the United Kingdom. About 17% of British imports are LNG shipments, most of which are carried by Qatar, the United States and Russia.

Last year the United Kingdom imported 3.12 billion cubic meters of Russian gas (4% of total consumption of the fuel). In June, Quasi Kwarteng, then Britain's Minister for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, said that the country had cut its gas imports from Russia by 75% compared to 2021. The average annual volume of gas consumed in the kingdom is about 75 billion cubic meters.