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AsianOil PIPELINES & TRANSPORT AsianOil

CNPC to follow Sinopec with

major LNG deal with Qatar

CHINA CHINA National Petroleum Corporation imports from Australia and the US have declined
(CNPC) is reported to be on the verge of signing although overall LNG imports declined by 20%.
The deal would cover a long-term LNG contract with Qatar Energy Citing data from China’s General Administra-
4mn tonnes per year of similar to the agreement reached between Qatar tion of Customs, the report said that Qatar LNG
supplies. Energy and China’s Sinopec late last year. That imports increased by 75% to 15.7 million tons
deal called for Qatar to deliver 4 million tons during 2022 over 2021, accounting for a quarter
annually of LNG for a 27-year period begin- of total gas imports. LNG imports from Australia
ning in 2026 when the North Field East (NFE) and the US fell by 30% and 71% respectively, to
expansion project is scheduled to start produc- 21.9 million tons and 2.09 million tons.
ing LNG. Qatar Energy’s deal with Sinopec is the first
The Supply and Purchase Agreement signed the Persian Gulf nation has made for the LNG
by Sinopec and Qatar will bring LNG deliveries that will be produced from the North Field
up to 2053. The deal has been estimated at a value Expansion Project. Work began in 2020 with the
of $60 billion. goal to increase Qatar’s LNG output from 77 mil-
Should CNPC and Qatar Energy proceed lion tons annually to 110 million tons annually
with the reported deal it is expected to be of a by 2026. The North Field South (NFS) expansion
similar quantity and value. Neither CNPC nor project will boost Qatar’s production capacity to
Qatar Energy have confirmed the report carried 126 million tons/year by 2027.
by Reuters on February 13. Qatar Energy has signed partnership agree-
“CNPC has agreed on the major terms with ments with eight international oil companies for
Qatar in a deal that will be very similar to Sino- the two projects that include the involvement
pec’s,” the agency reported an unidentified Chi- of ExxonMobil, Shell, TotalEnergies, Eni and
nese state official as saying. The report added ConocoPhillips. Qatar Energy has also lined up
that the deal would be a good one for CNPC in construction contracts and long-term charter
that it secures additional long-term supply from agreements for 60 LNG carriers to support the
a reliable and well positioned partner. The deal NFE and NFS projects. The number of tankers
will insulate CNPC from market volatility and linked to the projects is expected to reach around
diversify supply, the report said. 100 over time.
CNPC is China’s largest gas importer. Over It is believed that CNPC and Sinopec are both
the last year has boosted its supplies of Russian negotiating for shares in the North Field expan-
gas by pipeline and LNG tanker. In the meantime, sion projects. ™

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 07 16•February•2023