Qatar signs world’s ‘longest’ gas supply deal with China

QatarEnergy announced a 27-year natural gas supply deal with China on Monday, calling it the “longest” ever seen as it strengthened ties with Asia while Europe scrambles for alternative sources. The state energy company will send four million tonnes of liquefied natural gas annually from its new North Field East project to China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), it said. The deal “marks the longest gas supply agreement in the history of the LNG industry”, said Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, Qatar’s energy minister and QatarEnergy’s chief executive. Asian countries led by China, Japan and South Korea are the main market for Qatar’s gas, which is increasingly being sought by European countries since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Negotiations with European countries have struggled as Germany and others baulked at signing the type of long-term deals made with Asian nations.