(Yicai) Nov. 6 -- Chinese oil major China Petrochemical Corporation, better known as Sinopec, has penned a 15-year procurement contract for liquified natural gas with France’s TotalEnergies, the world's third-biggest LNG supplier, at the ongoing seventh China International Import Expo.

Sinopec will buy two million tons of LNG from TotalEnergies a year over a 15-year period starting 2028, the Beijing-based company said. On day two of the expo, the Chinese oil major has already signed USD40.9 billion worth of procurement contracts with 38 overseas suppliers.

The tie-up will not only boost TotalEnergies' LNG sales but also meet China's growing gas consumption, industry insiders said.

TotalEnergies will continue to enhance sales to Asia's long-term supply market, said Stéphane Michel, president of Gas, Renewables & Power at the Courbevoie-based company. The deal with Sinopec will help meet the region's ever increasing demand for energy.

China's natural gas consumption jumped 9.5 percent in the first three quarters from a year earlier, according to Sinopec's third-quarter report.

TotalEnergies also renewed its LNG supply deal with China National Offshore Oil Corporation in September, extending the previous agreement by five years to 2034. It will deliver 1.25 million tons of LNG per year to the Chinese offshore oil giant.

Currently, TotalEnergies supplies about five million tons of LNG a year to the world's biggest LNG importer. China imported 71 million tons of LNG last year and this is expected to rise to 163 million tons by 2040.

Since the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out in early 2022, many countries have made energy security a top priority, prompting the signing of more long-term LNG contracts.

Chinese firms have penned a large number of new long-term LNG supply deals over the past three years, adding around 9.14 million tons of LNG deliveries each year, according to the China Natural Gas Report 2024.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor