ConocoPhilips to further tap China’s green business

BEIJING: United States-based oil and gas company ConocoPhillips said it is exploring opportunities to supply more liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its current and future projects to the growing Chinese market.

“Regardless of the near-term uncertainty, our commitment to supplying LNG to China on a long-term basis will remain unchanged,” said Bill Bullock, executive vice-president and chief financial officer of ConocoPhillips.

“Nearly 10 million tonnes per annum LNG from our worldwide joint venture projects has been shipped to China to support the country’s energy transition goals since 2016.

“We delivered the first US LNG cargo from Alaska to China in 2011,” Bullock said.

“With our growing LNG portfolio, we look forward to more cooperation opportunities that help meet China’s growing energy demand and energy transition goals.”

China led the world in LNG imports last year with nearly 80 million tonnes, up 19% from the year before. Such an amount of LNG represented 65% of China’s overall natural gas imports and 30% of its total natural gas supply in 2021.

ConocoPhillips expects LNG to play an increasingly important role in helping meet the energy transition pathway demand, as it is lower in greenhouse gas emissions intensity than other alternatives like coal.

China is expected to attract more international energy suppliers with its burgeoning natural gas demand and global energy behemoths are already stepping up their existing LNG business to expand their presence in the country, said Li Ziyue, an analyst with BloombergNEF.

“Global giants are showing a growing interest in China’s robust LNG market,” Li said.

“In addition to the signing of LNG sales and purchase agreements with Chinese companies, some international oil corporations have extended their cooperation ranging from participation in LNG receiving terminals to downstream LNG trading in the country.”

China’s LNG imports have been gaining momentum since 2016. However, due to the rising import prices, China’s gas and LNG demand is expected to slow down in 2022, after solid growth in 2021.

China’s LNG imports are set to fall over 14% year-on-year to 69 million tonnes this year, said energy research and consultancy Wood Mackenzie. — China Daily/ANN