Qatar Petroleum has inked a 10-year LNG Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) for the supply of 2 million tons per annum of LNG to China, the company announced on Monday.
The Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, and Zhang Yuzhuo, the chairman of the Sinopec Group, signed the contract during a virtual ceremony attended by senior officials from both sides.
Under the agreement, LNG deliveries will commence in January 2022 and will be delivered to Sinopec's LNG terminals in China.
'We are proud of the fact that this agreement will be Sinopec's first long-term LNG SPA from Qatar, and we are hopeful that it will mark the start of a long and fruitful partnership with Sinopec,' Al-Kaabi was quoted as saying in the statement.
The relationship with Qatar and China for LNG dates back to 2009 when the country started supplying LNG through a host of LNG SPAs with several Chinese partners.
Zhang Yuzhuo said that the signing of the long-term LNG SPA with Qatar Petroleum is a further step by Sinopec to deliver its commitment to sustainability while meeting the growing needs of the Chinese market.
'We are proud to team up with Qatar Petroleum, one of the premier suppliers in the industry, to supply cleaner energy to China. We are also excited to begin a new journey of more comprehensive cooperation with Qatar Petroleum in the years to come,' he said.
Since the first LNG delivery in September 2009 to date, Qatar has supplied China with more than 62 million tons of LNG.
China is a key and strategic energy partner for Qatar throughout the entire energy value chain. It is also the main driver of the growth in the global LNG market as the government adopts increasingly progressive environmental policies.
By Busranur Begcecanli
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr