Qatar Strengthens Its Presence in the Asian Gas Market with Long-Term Agreement with Malaysia

SadaNews - Qatar has strengthened its presence in the LNG market in Asia by signing a long-term agreement to export gas to Malaysia, amidst growing demand in the Southeast Asian nation.

QatarEnergy announced in a post on the "X" platform that it has signed a 20-year agreement with Malaysia's state-owned company "Petronas" to supply 2 million tons of liquefied gas annually starting in 2028.

Qatar is the second largest exporter of LNG in the world after the United States. According to Kepler data, Doha shipped 81.07 million tons of gas last year, according to "Reuters".

Growing Asian Demand

The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the 21st International LNG Conference in Doha, following the Qatari company signing a long-term agreement to supply up to 3 million tons of LNG to "JERA", Japan's largest utility company.

The Qatari news agency quoted Tengku Muhammed Taufiq, President and CEO of the Petronas Group, stating that the new partnership aims to meet the growing demand in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in Southeast Asian countries that are still experiencing supply shortages.

Qatar is implementing an expansion project for the North Field that will increase its export capacity to 142 million tons per year by 2030, compared to approximately 77 million tons currently. Production from the first phase of this expansion is set to begin later this year.