Tribune News Network
Doha
QatarEnergy has announced the signing of a definitive partnership agreement with China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec) for the North Field East (NFE) expansion project, the largest project in the history of the LNG industry.
Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, QatarEnergy will transfer to Sinopec a 5 percent interest in the equivalent of one NFE train with a capacity of 8 million tons per annum (MTPA). This agreement will not affect the participating interests of any of the other shareholders.
The agreement marks the entry of Sinopec as a shareholder in one of the NFE joint venture companies that own the NFE project, one of the most critical projects in the global LNG industry.
The agreement was signed by HE Minister of State for Energy Affairs and QatarEnergy President and CEO Eng. Saad Sherida Al Kaabi and Sinopec Chairperson Dr. MA Yong-sheng at a special signing ceremony held today at QatarEnergy’s headquarters and attended by senior executives from both companies.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, HE Eng. Saad Sherida Al Kaabi said: “the People’s Republic of China is one of the most important gas markets in the world and is a key market for Qatari energy products,” adding “today’s event underscores QatarEnergy’s commitment to deepening its relationships with key LNG consumers, while prioritizing long-term strategic partnerships and alignment with world class partners from China, represented by Sinopec here today.” Noting the November 2022 agreement to supply Sinopec with 4 MTPA of LNG from the NFE project, HE Minister Al Kaabi said that agreement was not only the first NFE LNG supply agreement to be announced, but also the longest LNG supply agreement in the history of the industry.
“Today, Sinopec will join Qatar’s LNG family becoming the first Asian shareholder in the NFE project,” he added.
His Excellency continued his remarks by saying: “we are pleased to enter into this milestone agreement with Sinopec, marking yet another landmark in the excellent bilateral relations between the People’s Republic of China and the State of Qatar.”
He also extended his thanks to the working teams in QatarEnergy and Sinopec for their dedicated work to reach this important agreement.
For his part, Sinopec Chairperson Dr. Ma Yongsheng said that this agreement is a tangible step towards both countries’ agreement to deepen the partnership between Sinopec and QatarEnergy, stressing that it is another milestone after the signing of the long-term LNG SPA from the NFE project in November 2022, marking the integrated cooperation achieved by both companies on the NFE project.
Dr. Ma further added that “China-Qatar energy cooperation features a natural complementarity,” adding that 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 optimize China’s energy consumption structure and enhance the security, stability, and reliability of clean energy supply,” he also said, expressing his hope that the two companies will continue to explore new LNG cooperation opportunities based on the solid foundation they have laid together and will further expand cooperation areas to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.
This agreement is the first of its kind after last year’s series of partnership announcements in the USD 28.75 billion NFE project, which will raise Qatar’s LNG export capacity from the current 77 MTPA to 110 MTPA.
