Qatar inks long-term gas supply deal with China

DOHA, June 20 (AFP): Qatar announced a second 27-year supply deal with a Chinese company on Tuesday as it expands production from the world's biggest natural gas field.
The agreement, to supply four million tonnes annually to the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), matches the terms of a November deal with China's Sinopec as the longest ever seen in the industry.
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.
"Qatar will supply four million tonnes annually of natural gas from the North Field East Expansion Project to China over a period of 27 years," Kaabi told a signing ceremony in Doha.
"This will become the second LNG (liquefied natural gas) sale and purchase agreement to China within the North Field East Expansion Project."
By expanding activities at North Field, which has the world's biggest natural gas reserves and extends under the Gulf into Iranian territory, Qatar is raising its LNG production by 60 percent-plus to 126 million tonnes a year by 2027.