New Delhi: The Brazilian unit of Royal Dutch Shell PLC has signed a memorandum of understanding with Bolivia's Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) to import natural gas, the Anglo-Dutch oil major told Reuters on Friday.

The agreement, signed last week, relates to a commercial contract involving the supply of 4 million cubic meters of gas per day through 2022, and some 10 million cubic meters per day from that year, according to a statement from the Bolivian Information Agency (ABI).

The non-binding memorandum between Shell Brasil and YPFB paves the way for a potential deal in the future, Shell Brasil said, adding the transaction could enhance Shell's position as a gas supplier in Latin America's largest economy.

The plan comes as an existing contract for natural gas transportation services on the Brazil-Bolivia pipeline known as Gasbol is set to end, freeing capacity, the oil company said.

Operated by TBG, the Gasbol pipeline is majority owned by a subsidiary of Brazil's oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA and minority owned by a subsidiary of Bolivia's YPFB.

Shell Brasil said it wants to take advantage of an opportunity to import gas from Bolivia as capacity becomes available in the Brazil-Bolivia pipeline in the coming years.

The 20-year contract between Petrobras and the pipeline operator will end on Dec. 31, Royal Dutch Shell said, referring to an agreement signed in 1999.