Qatar, China to Discuss Cooperation

Qatar Petroleum said January 9 that its CEO Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi left for China at the head of an official delegation to discuss cooperation in the energy field.

He and the high-level delegation from both Qatar Petroleum (QP) and Qatargas, now incorporating RasGas, will hold talks with chief executives of major Chinese energy companies such as China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), Beijing Gas, and other major institutions.

Qatargas though will be keen to discuss renew existing, and signing new, LNG supply deals with important Chinese importers - in the teeth of competition from rising exporters such as the US and Australia.

QP said the visit has great importance as it comes at a time when China leads the drive behind the increasing global demand for energy, and amidst increasing cooperation between China and Qatar. Qatar launched the first direct shipping line between Hamad Port and Shanghai in 2017, followed by an agreement between Qatar Chemical and Petrochemical Marketing and Distribution Company (Muntajat), a marketing arm of QP, and Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani) to launch direct petrochemical shipping services from Hamad Port to a number of ports, including the port of Shanghai.

CNOOC was a partner with QP and Shell as the winning bidding consortium for the Alto de Cabo Frio-Oeste block in the prolific Santos hydrocarbon basin offshore Brazil, announced October 2017.