State-run firm Qatargas signed a deal to supply two Chinese state-run energy firms with five million tonnes a year (t/y) of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Qatargas will provide 3 million t/y of LNG to China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) from 2013 and boost sales to Petrochina, a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), by 2 million t/y in the first half of the next decade.

The deals are in addition to a contract signed in 2008 between Qatargas and CNOOC for 2 million t/y of LNG over 25 years.

Qatargas says the initial 3 million-t/y allotment will be sourced from its 7.8 million-t/y train 7 as part of the Qatargas 4 joint venture.

In December 2007, Qatar said it was considering making its first foray into China’s energy market after initiating talks with PetroChina to build a refinery and associated petrochemicals plant.