QatarEnergy has announced the signing of a partnership agreement with China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec) for the North Field South (NFS) expansion project.

The two sides also signed a long-term sales and purchase agreement (SPA) for the delivery of 3 million tons per annum (MTPA) of LNG from the NFS project to Sinopec’s receiving terminals in China over a span of 27 years.

The agreements were signed in Shanghai by Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy, and Dr. MA Yong-sheng, Chairman, Sinopec, in a special ceremony attended by senior executives from both companies.

Pursuant to the terms of the partnership agreement, QatarEnergy will transfer a 5% interest to Sinopec in a joint venture company that owns the equivalent of 6 million tons per annum (MTPA) of LNG production capacity in the NFS project.

Partnership agreement is the second of its kind with Sinopec, following a similar one signed in Doha last April, which marked Sinopec’s entry as a shareholder in one of the North Field East (NFE) joint venture companies that own the NFE project, one of the most critical projects in the global LNG industry. The agreement will not affect the participating interests of any of the other shareholders.

The long-term LNG SPA signed follows another SPA signed in November 2022 for the supply of 4 MTPA of LNG over 27 years, the longest LNG supply agreement in the history of the industry.

These historic milestones are a testament to the excellent bilateral relations between the People’s Republic of China and the State of Qatar as well as between Sinopec and QatarEnergy.