China’s Sinopec signs second 27-year natural gas supply deal with Qatar as it seeks to shore up energy security
- Doha will supply 3 million tonnes of natural gas a year under the deal, QatarEnergy said
- The deal is the second with QatarEnergy as China aims to plug holes in its energy security strategy
Doha will supply 3 million tonnes of gas a year under the deal, QatarEnergy said, announcing another agreement, which grants the Chinese oil giant a further share of Qatar’s North Field gas expansion project.
The expansion, which broke ground last month, contains the world’s biggest natural gas reserves and extends under the Gulf into Iranian territory.
Under the deal signed in Shanghai, QatarEnergy will give Sinopec a 5 per cent interest in a joint venture with a 6 million tonnes per year capacity in the second phase of the expansion, North Field South.
Asian countries led by China, Japan and South Korea are the main market for Qatar’s gas, which has been increasingly sought by European countries since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine early last year.
In April, state-owned Sinopec became the first Asian firm to secure a stake in the Qatari expansion’s first phase, North Field East.
