QatarEnergy and China Petrochemical (Sinopec) have signed an agreement to whereby the latter will participate in the North Field East expansion project (NFE project) in Qatar.
Under the agreement, QatarEnergy will transfer a stake of 5% to Sinopec in one of the four trains of the LNG project with a capacity of eight million tonnes per annum (Mtpa).
The agreement will not impact the stakes of any of the other shareholders in the North Field East expansion project.
Sinopec chairman Dr Ma Yongsheng said: “China-Qatar energy cooperation features a natural complementarity. QatarEnergy is a leading LNG producer in the world and one of the most important partners of Sinopec.
“The cooperation with QatarEnergy will help Sinopec further optimise China’s energy consumption structure and enhance the security, stability, and reliability of clean energy supply.
“I hope that the two companies will continue to explore new LNG cooperation opportunities based on the solid foundation we have laid together and will further expand cooperation areas to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.”
Estimated to cost $28.75bn, the NFE project is anticipated to increase Qatar’s annual LNG export volume to 110mtpa from 77mtpa.
To be built in Ras Laffan, north-east Qatar, the LNG project will source natural gas from the offshore North Field, which is claimed to be the largest non-associated gas field in the world.
Qatar Minister of State for Energy Affairs and QatarEnergy CEO Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said: “The People’s Republic of China is a major driver of the global energy markets as well as being one of the most important gas markets in the world and is a key market for Qatari energy products.”
Last year, QatarEnergy signed a 27-year agreement with Sinopec under which the latter will be supplied with 4mtpa of LNG from the North Field East expansion project.
