Qatargas, the world’s largest LNG producer, said on Monday it signed a long-term deal with a unit of PetroChina for the supply of around 3.4 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas per annum.
Under the 22-year sale and purchase agreement, which ends in 2040, Qatargas will supply PetroChina International with LNG from the Qatargas 2 project, a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum, ExxonMobil and Total, to different receiving terminals across China.
The deal allows flexibility in delivering LNG to various receiving terminals across China.
This includes delivering LNG to the Dalian, Jiangsu, Tangshan and Shenzhen LNG receiving terminals, utilising Qatargas’ fleet of 70 conventional, Q-Flex and Q-Max LNG vessels, Qatargas said in its statement.
Qatargas charters vessels from the world’s largest LNG shipping company, Nakilat.
PetroChina is China’s largest gas supplier, supplying 66% of the country’s domestic demand in 2017.
It is expected that China will become one of the world’s largest gas markets as it pursues its strategy to switch coal-fired power generation to gas.
Chinese gas consumption grew by 15% in 2017 alone, with LNG imports growing by more than 40%.