QATAR - CHINA LNG

REUTERS- PetroChina Ltd is in advanced discussions with Qatar to purchase liquefied natural gas (LNG) under short- and long-term agreements, three sources with knowledge of the talks said on Wednesday.

China needs to secure LNG to supply its push to replace coal with cleaner burning natural gas to reduce air pollution. After Beijing started the program last year, China has overtaken South Korea as the world's second-biggest buyer of LNG.

Tying up with Qatar, the world's biggest LNG producer, makes sense as the Middle Eastern country seeks buyers for a planned output expansion.

One of the deals under discussion as late as last week covers several million tonnes of annual supply starting this year though 2022, said two of the sources briefed on the discussions. The price and volume is yet to be finalised, the sources added.

A third source, who was also briefed on the matter, said PetroChina is also discussing a longer-term agreement with Qatar, without giving further details.

All the sources declined to be identified as the matter is not public. A spokesman for China National Petroleum Corp, PetroChina's parent, declined to comment, while Qatargas did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

China's LNG imports may surge by 70 percent over the next three years to 65 million tonnes in 2020, according to consultancy SIA Energy. Last year, China imported a record 38.1 million tonnes, 46 percent more than the previous year.

"The short-term deal is to supplement an existing long-term agreement," said one of the sources, a Beijing-based industry executive.

PetroChina started supply talks with Qatar, the world's largest LNG exporter, several months ago to cover a growing long-term supply gap as demand is set to rise faster than domestic fields could produce, said two of the sources.

Despite growing competition from rival exporters such as Australia, Russia and the United States, Qatar stands among the most competitive suppliers to China due to the size of its output, geographic proximity and low cost, said Chen Zhu, managing director at consultancy SIA Energy.

The talks with Qatar follow China's decision to add LNG from the United States to the latest list of U.S. goods under tariffs amid the trade war between the world's two-largest economies.

China's imports are bound to grow as the country has only secured 43 million tonnes per year of imports and is expected to need 65 million tonnes per year of imports by 2020, rising to 87 million tonnes per year by 2020, according to SIA Energy forecasts.

"Given the growing appetite for imported LNG, China has to look for new LNG sources and investments. This will benefit new projects in Qatar, Canada West Coast, Russia, Mozambique, Australia and Papua New Guinea," said Chen.

Qatar is looking to expand its LNG capacity to 100 million tonnes per year from 77 million tonnes per year currently.

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Earlier: 

2018, August, 6, 13:25:00 CHINA - U.S. LIST PLATTS - China rattled investors in the US LNG export sector when it said Friday it may impose 25% tariffs on American cargoes if President Donald Trump follows through on his threat to escalate the trade dispute with Beijing that he initiated.

2018, July, 25, 09:30:00 U.S. - CHINA LNG DOWN REUTERS - China, which purchased 14 percent of all U.S. LNG shipped between February 2016-April 2018, has taken delivery from just one vessel that left the United States in May and none in June compared with 14 during the first four months of the year.

2018, July, 23, 13:40:00 КООПЕРАЦИЯ РОССИИ И КИТАЯ МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - «Последовательно реализуются ключевые проекты двустороннего взаимодействия, включая поставки природного газа по «восточному» маршруту и «Ямал СПГ». Ведется кооперация в нефтяной сфере в рамках организации поставок по нефтепроводу «Сковородино-Мохэ». Заинтересованы в участии китайских компаний и в других перспективных проектах, включая Арктик СПГ 2».

2018, July, 23, 13:35:00 РОССИЯ - КИТАЙ: 3 000 000 МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - «Проект реализован в пятистах километрах за Полярным кругом, в месте, где полностью ранее отсутствовала инфраструктура. Для проекта создан флот газовозов ледового класса Arc 7. Запуск первой линии проекта состоялся в декабре прошлого года с опережением графика, выход «Ямал СПГ» на полную мощность – 17,4 млн тонн СПГ в год - намечен на конец 2019 г. К настоящему моменту с проекта уже отгружено около трёх миллионов тонн продукции», - сообщил Александр Новак.

2018, July, 23, 13:30:00 RUSSIA'S LNG FOR CHINA NOVATEK - PAO NOVATEK (“NOVATEK” and/or the “Company”) has shipped its first cargos of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Yamal LNG project to China via the Northern Sea Route. Русский | English

2018, June, 13, 13:35:00 ЭНЕРГИЯ РОССИИ ДЛЯ КИТАЯ МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - Было отмечено, что отношения России и Китая носят дружественный, добрососедский характер, поступательно развиваются в духе всеобъемлющего стратегического партнёрства: стабильно растет товарооборот, увеличиваются инвестиции.

2018, June, 13, 12:50:00 QATAR LNG - 2024: 100 MLN MT PLATTS - "There is no LNG supply glut," Sada said. "There may be a surplus of only 10 million mt/year of LNG in the early 2020s [but] in a 350 million mt/year LNG market, this means that the market is practically in balance," he said.