BP & CHINA: $20 B

BP has signed a $20bn deal to supply China with liquefied natural gas over 20 years starting in 2019.

Under the terms of the agreement, the UK oil and gas major will ship 1.5m tonnes of gas for Cnooc, the state-controlled Chinese energy group, per year.

The annual volumes – equivalent to 72bn cubic feet – represent more than a tenth of the 13m tonnes imported last year by Cnooc, which is ranked as China's leading and the world's third largest LNG importer.

Bob Dudley, BP chief executive, said the deal would help China's drive in switching more of its energy supply from coal to less polluting hydrocarbons.

"We are pleased to support China's commitment to improving its air quality," he said. The agreement was signed by company executives in London in the presence of David Cameron, UK prime minister, and Li Keqiang, Chinese premier.

The deal was part of a number of agreements signed during a state visit by the Chinese premier.

It follows a $400bn gas supply deal stuck between Gazprom of Russia and China National Petroleum Corp, China's largest state-owned oil company, in May that will run for 30 years from 2018.

In the past two years, Cnooc has also signed deals with BP's rival UK-listed gas supplier BG Group to supply a total of 8.6m tonnes a year from its LNG project in Queensland, Australia, under two separate 20-year deals.

ft.com