China to import more LNG from Qatar to satisfy domestic demand

Mar. 9, 2009 (China Knowledge) - China intends to import more liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar, the world's top LNG exporter, in years ahead to meet the great domestic demand, according to Fu Chengyu, general manager of China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC), in the opening ceremony for CNOOC's Doha office.

So far, CNOOC has obtained an annual LNG supply of 13 million tons through domestic production and from Russia and Kazakhstan, said Fu.

However, the current supply cannot satisfy the market's needs. The company wants its annual imports of LNG to reach 60 million tons by 2020, and it hopes Qatar can contribute part of the extra imports, said Fu.

Last June, CNOOC, China's top LNG firm and the only company in China able to import LNG, inked a deal with Qatar to buy 2 million tons annually for 25 years.

Qatar has an annual LNG output of 31 million tons, and it is estimated that this figure will hit 77 million tons by 2012.