Qatar and China ink another LNG supply deal

State-owned Qatar Petroleum has signed another long-term LNG supply deal, this time with Chinese NOC Cnooc

Qatar Petroleum will supply Cnooc with 3.5mn t/yr of LNG for 15 years, with the sale and purchase agreement (SPA) starting in January 2022. The deal expands upon an existing relationship between the companies, since Cnooc has been taking Qatari LNG since 2009. The SPA helps support Qatar Petroleum’s rapid expansion plans with guaranteed income streams, while also partially shielding buyer CNOOC from the current strength and volatility of LNG prices. Other customers in the established east Asian LNG markets—China, Japan and South Korea—may also follow suit and lock-in additional long-term contracted supply in response to high spot prices, since the Platts JKM spot price broke the $20/mn Btu