Qatargas sold its first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Jovo LNG Storage and Transportation Company, an independent LNG importer from China.
The 64,000 cubic meters cargo was sold on a free-on-board (FOB) basis and loaded on to the vessel LNG Lerici at Ras Laffan port last week pursuant to the FOB master sale and purchase agreement signed by the parties earlier this summer, TradeArabia reported.
The cargo will be delivered to Jovo’s LNG terminal located in Lisha Island, Dongguan in the Guangdong province in China.
This is Qatargas' first deal with an independent and privately-owned LNG importer in China. Till date the Qatari firm had only supplied LNG to Chinese state-owned companies.
The recent development in the Chinese market to promote cleaner fuels has encouraged and supported the growth of smaller LNG players like Jovo which enjoys its niche market in the Guangdong province by providing its customers with LNG delivered by a fleet of trucks, as well as with LPG, methanol and DME. Qatargas CEO Khalid Bin Khalifa Al-Thani described it as an important milestone for the company.
"This achievement highlights Qatargas’ capability to supply LNG not only to major LNG players around the globe, but also demonstrates our ability to work successfully with small-scale buyers and cater to their specific needs," he stated.
"This delivery will undoubtedly encourage other potential independent players both in China and across the world to consider Qatargas as a reliable source of LNG no matter how big or small their operations are," he added.
Jovo CEO Zhang Jianguo said: "After more than two years of hard negotiations and friendly communications, vigorous support from China’s National and Guangdong Provincial Energy Administration has created a new prospect for Chinese Private Enterprise to import LNG."
"The success of this business deal gave a powerful impetus to the realization of Jovo’s enterprise mission to promote the low carbon economy and to share the prosperous future," he added.
Qatargas, established in 1984, is the largest LNG producing company in the world, with an annual LNG production capacity of 42 million tons per annum.
