QatarEnergy signed definitive agreements with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), covering the long-term supply of LNG to China and partnership in the North Field East LNG expansion project (NFE).

The two parties signed an LNG Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) for the delivery of 4 million tons of LNG per annum from the NFE project to CNPC’s receiving terminals in China over a span of 27 years, marking the industry’s longest term SPA commitment.

The two parties also signed a share sale and purchase agreement pursuant to which QatarEnergy will transfer to CNPC a 5% interest in the equivalent of one NFE train with a capacity of 8 million tons per annum. This transfer will see CNPC become a partner in the NFE project and will not affect the participating interests of any of the other shareholders in the project.

The agreements were signed by Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy, and Dai Houliang, the Chairman of CNPC, during a special ceremony held at QatarEnergy’s headquarters and attended by senior executives from both companies. 

In remarks at the signing ceremony, Minister Al-Kaabi welcomed CNPC as a valuable partner in the NFE project. Al-Kaabi said: “We are pleased to embark on this partnership with CNPC and to build on the excellent relations between the People’s Republic of China and the State of Qatar. These agreements demonstrate our unwavering commitment to our customers and partners and to our shared ambition for a sustainable future facilitated by a cleaner, and more eco-friendly energy source that would catalyze substantial socio-economic development.”

Houliang said: “Our collaboration over the NFE project represents a major achievement and excellent practice of both CNPC and QatarEnergy in delivering on the strategic consensus of the leaders of our countries. It is another milestone in forming a strategic synergy between China’s “Belt and Road” Initiative and Qatar’s National Vision 2030. It lays a solid foundation for the energy cooperation between the two sides in the next three decades. From this brand-new starting point, CNPC will continue to actively discuss with QatarEnergy all-round cooperation across the hydrocarbon industry chain and other areas like green and low carbon energies, so as to build a stable, long-term, and multi-dimensional strategic partnership.”