Qatargas signed a long-term sale and purchase agreement (SPA) to supply PetroChina with around 3.4 mtpa of LNG.
Under the 22-year SPA, which ends in 2040, Qatargas will supply LNG from the Qatargas 2 project, a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum, ExxonMobil, and Total, to different receiving terminals across China, with the first cargo to be delivered to the People's Republic of China later this month.
The SPA allows flexibility in delivering LNG to various receiving terminals across China, including the Dalian, Jiangsu, Tangshan, and Shenzhen LNG receiving terminals, utilizing Qatargas' fleet of 70 conventional, Q-Flex, and Q-Max LNG vessels.
Qatargas is the world's largest LNG-producing company with an annual production capacity of 77 million tonnes. PetroChina is China's largest gas supplier, supplying 66% of China's domestic demand in 2017, according to Qatargas. It is anticipated that the People's Republic of China will become one of the world's largest gas markets. Chinese gas consumption grew by 15% in 2017 alone, with LNG imports growing by more than 40%.