Qatar and China are engaging in negotiations regarding cooperation in the energy field as a Qatari delegation left for China.
The delegation led by Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar Petroleum president & CEO and the chairman of the country’s LNG producer, Qatargas, will hold meetings with Chinese energy majors.
The list includes China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), Beijing Gas, among others.
Qatar Petroleum said in a statement the visit comes at a time of increase in global energy demand rise lead by China.
Qatar launched the first direct shipping line between Hamad Port and Shanghai in 2017, followed by an agreement between Qatar Chemical and Petrochemical Marketing and Distribution Company (Muntajat), the marketing arm of Qatar Petroleum, and Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani) to launch direct petrochemical shipping services from Hamad Port to a number of ports, including the port of Shanghai.
China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) was a partner with Qatar Petroleum and Shell as the winning bidding consortium for the Alto de Cabo Frio-Oeste block in the prolific Santos hydrocarbon basin offshore Brazil.
By the end of last year, China has overtaken South Korea as the world’s second-largest importer of LNG. Qatar, the world’s largest exporter of the chilled fuel, has, on the other hand, merged its two producers RasGas and Qatargas , under one company that started operation on January 1.