Qatar Petroleum said it has entered into a 15-year deal to supply LNG to a unit of China’s CNOOC.
Under the sales and purchase agreement, QP would deliver 3.5 million tons per year of LNG to CNOOC Gas and Power Trading & Marketing starting in January 2022, according to a statement on Wednesday.
CNOOC received its first LNG cargo from Qatar back in September 2009.
As of August 2021, Qatar has delivered a total of 715 LNG cargoes to China, of which 270 cargoes or more than 24 million tons of LNG were delivered to CNOOC, QP said.
This marks the seventh long-term deal QP has signed since February this year. Prior to this contract, QP entered into a 20-year deal to supply LNG to South Korea’s Kogas.
These new LNG supply contracts come after QP announced a final investment decision on its $28.75 billion North Field East project earlier this year.
Under the project, QP will build four mega trains with a capacity of 8 million tonnes per year in the Ras Laffan complex.
This first phase of the expansion project will increase Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 77 to 110 mtpa.
QP also plans a second phase to further boost capacity to total 126 mtpa by 2027, as well as additional expansions.
The company’s unit Qatargas already operates in total fourteen LNG trains at Ras Laffan.