Qatar Petroleum Corporation has signed a long-term agreement with the China Sinopec Corporation for Oil and Chemicals (Sinopec), under which the Qatari company will provide China with two million tons per year of liquefied gas.

Qatar Petroleum will begin delivery of LNG shipments in January of next year.

According to a statement by Qatar Petroleum, this agreement reflects the State of Qatar's continued commitment to meet the growing needs of its customers around the world, and to provide reliable supplies of LNG.

Engineer Saad bin Sheridah Al Kaabi, Minister of State for Energy Affairs, Managing Director and CEO of Qatar Petroleum said;

"We are very happy and proud to have signed this historic sale and purchase agreement, which marks the beginning of a long-term partnership with Sinopec."

"This long-term agreement is distinguished by being the first for Sinopec to buy LNG from Qatar. Our partnership in the field of LNG with China dates back to 2009, when we started supplying it through a set of similar agreements with a number of our esteemed Chinese partners," he added.

"This agreement reflects the continuation of our leadership position in the market, and the confidence of our customers around the world as the preferred partner to meet their LNG needs," Al-Kaabi added.

"We are proud to cooperate with Qatar Petroleum, one of the main suppliers in the industry, to provide China with cleaner energy, and we are pleased to start a new journey of more comprehensive cooperation with Qatar Petroleum in the coming years," said Sinopec Group Chairman Jang Yuju.

It is reported that Qatar has exported to China more than 62 million tons of LNG since 2009 through Qatargas.

China is a major and strategic partner for the State of Qatar in the field of energy through its various components, foremost of which is LNG.

Qatar is seeking to increase its production of liquefied gas to reach 126 million tons annually by 2027, compared to 77 million currently.