To make up the gap of 80 billion cubic meters natural gas, China¡¯s state-owned petroleum giants ally with Qatar, the large global LNG exporter. ChinaPetro and China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) have signed huge orders with Qatar recently.

China¡¯s No. 1 petroleum corporation ChinaPetro has signed the first Qatar-China LNG long-supply agreement with Qatargas. According to the agreement, the LNG will be transported to the receiving terminal of ChinaPetro, 3 million tons every year for 25 years.

The CNOOC, who initiates LNG project in China, has concluded an agreement with Qatargas, purchasing 2 million ton LNG every year for its LNG project.

Qatar is the world largest LNG exporter and has schemed to expand the annual output to 77 million tons by 2010. China has only signed long-term supply agreements on LNG project with Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia before. An authoritative estimation shows the gap of Chinese natural gas will reach 80 billion cubic meters.