Doha – Qatar Energy will supply 2 million tonnes per year (mtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Petronas on a 20-year contract, the Malaysian state-owned company announced on Wednesday.
The agreement, signed at the LNG2026 conference in Doha, is the first long-term supply agreement between the two countries, following last week’s 27-year LNG supply agreement between Qatar and Japan.
Petroleum Nacional (Petronas) is aggressively investing in new natural gas fields overseas and seeking partnerships with foreign companies to increase extraction output, while also seeking LNG import deals as local reserves dwindle.
“The long-term volumes secured through this agreement will play an important role in strengthening Malaysia’s energy supply security and ensuring stable and reliable LNG availability to meet Malaysia’s growing demand,” Petronas said in a statement.
Malaysia, the world’s fifth-largest LNG exporter, expects to significantly expand imports to cope with rising power demand from data centres.
Petronas has signed LNG import deals with Woodside Energy, Commonwealth LNG, Venture Global and ADNOC in recent years, and is planning a third regasification terminal.
Qatar Energy is betting on a major expansion project at Northfield, which is expected to produce its first LNG in the second half of this year and cement its position as the world’s second-largest LNG distributor.
The project is expected to produce 126 mtpa of LNG by 2027, increasing Qatar Energy’s production by about 64% from the current 77 mtpa. Qatar shipped more than 81 million tonnes of fuel last year, according to data from analytics firm Kpler.
(Reporting by Emily Chow in Doha; Editing by Neil Fullick)
