DOHA, April 12 (Xinhua) -- China's energy and chemical giant Sinopec on Wednesday signed a partnership agreement with QatarEnergy, the state-owned petroleum company of Qatar, to participate in the North Field East (NFE) expansion project.
The agreement was signed by Ma Yongsheng, chairman of Sinopec, and Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the minister of State for Energy Affairs and CEO of QatarEnergy, in a ceremony held in the Qatari capital of Doha.
The NFE project, with a total investment of 28.75 billion U.S. dollars, aims to raise Qatar's liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity from the current 77 million metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) to 110 MTPA, making it one of the largest LNG projects in the world, Sinopec said in a statement.
The project is part of Qatar's strategy to expand its global LNG market share and meet the growing demand for clean energy.
With the signing of the agreement, Sinopec becomes the first Asian shareholder in the NFE project, the Chinese company said.
"The cooperation will help Sinopec optimize the energy consumption mix in China and secure long-term and reliable clean energy supply to the nation. The partnership represents another model of bilateral cooperation between China and Qatar," Sinopec said. ■
