Qatargas, the world’s largest liquefied natural gas company, has reportedly publicized a long-standing Sale & Purchase Agreement with PetroChina International Company Limited, a business unit of PetroChina (PetroChina Company Limited). Sources claim that the agreement has been signed to supply approximately 3.4 M tons of LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) per year to China.
According to sources familiar with the development, the Qatar state-run establishment would supply the designated LNG through the Qatargas 2 venture, a project between Exxon Mobil Corp, Total, and Qatar Petroleum, to receiving stations spanning the Chinese territory, while the first cargo is expected to be dispatched this month itself.
The agreement permits flexibility in supplying Liquefied Natural Gas to terminals in China including the ones in Shenzhen, Jiangsu, Tangshan, and Dalian, by means of the Qatargas convoy of seventy conventional, Q-Max and Q-Flex vessels, Qatargas stated.
Reportedly, the 22-year LNG supply Sale and Purchase Agreement between Qatargas and PetroChina terminates in the year 2040.
According to industry experts, China needs Liquefied Natural Gas for its initiatives to substitute coal with eco-friendly and clean combustible natural gas, in a bid to cut-down air pollution in the country. After Beijing incepted the program previous year, China has reportedly become the second-biggest buyer of LNG in the world after overtaking South Korea, cite trusted sources.
According to SIA Energy analysts, China’s Liquefied Natural Gas imports are anticipated to spike by 70% to 65 million tons by the year 2020. In 2017, China imported a record volume of 38.1 million tons, 46 percent over the purchase of the prior year, claim sources.
If reports are to be believed, Qatar, which is the world’s largest Liquefied Natural Gas producer, is finding prospective buyers for a strategic expansion of its LNG produce.
For the uninitiated, PetroChina is the biggest gas merchant of China, delivering to 66 percent of China’s domestic requirements in 2017.
