China and Qatar announced on Monday (21) an agreement to supply natural gas from the Middle Eastern country to the Asian power with a duration of 27 years, saying it is one of the longest agreements of its kind ever established.
The announcement comes amid the energy crisis that hits Europe after the reduction in the supply of gas from Russia. Without the European market, Moscow had directed a good part of its sales to Beijing, an important economic and strategic partner.
Now, the Asian regime led by Xi Jinping is showing that it wants to diversify its gas suppliers.
State-owned Qatar Energy will annually export 4 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas to China’s Sinopec, according to details provided by the Qatari energy minister and director general of the national energy company, Saad Sherida Al Kaabi.
The gas will come from the North Field, one of the largest gas fields in the world, which Qatar shares with Iran and plans to expand over the next few years to increase its natural gas production by 60%. The goal is to produce 126 million tons per year by 2027.
The Asians China, Japan and South Korea form the main market for gas in Qatar, the world’s largest exporter of the product, which is increasingly coveted by European countries fleeing Russian dependence.
According to minister Al Kaabi, more negotiations are under way with countries in Europe that want greater security in the supply of gas. He claims that the North Field expansion will be a key part of this. “Recent insecurity has led buyers to understand the importance of having a fixed, long-term supply at reasonable prices,” he said during a press conference.
The discovery, in the 1970s, of the world’s largest deposit of natural gas in Qatar’s waters allowed the country of 2.7 million inhabitants (similar to the population of Mato Grosso do Sul) to become an energy giant. In a way, economic power influenced the choice of the country to host the 2022 World Cup.
Earlier this year, China also announced a new agreement with Russia to receive around 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year through a new pipeline, the Power of Siberia 1, which is still under construction. It will be able to send gas from Siberia, in Russia, to Shanghai, on the coast of China, covering a distance of 3,000 km.
Months later, in September, the Russian state-owned Gazprom and the Chinese CNPC signed new agreements, this time to include the use of Russian rubles and Chinese yuan as payment currency for the supply of natural gas, reinforcing the energy alliance.
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