​Qatargas Operating Company Limited (Qatargas) has delivered a liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo aboard a Q-Flex vessel to China's Beihai LNG Terminal, the first ever call by a Qatargas-chartered vessel at this terminal. The Q-Flex vessel, Al Sahla, is the largest LNG carrier to call at the terminal since the start of its operations in 2016.

Al Sahla was loaded with 205,000 cubic metres of LNG on 14 September at Ras Laffan Port, and called at Beihai LNG Terminal, located in the Tieshan Port Industrial Zone in Beihai Zhuang Autonomous region, in the Guangxi Province of China, on 5 October. It became the largest LNG carrier to call the terminal which has capacity to also accommodate the even larger Q-Max LNG vessels carrying up to 266,000 cubic metres.

The cargo was delivered to China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) which is the largest oil and petrochemical products supplier and the second largest oil and gas producer in China. It is the largest refining company and the third largest chemical company in the world.

The terminal, which has nominal capacity of three million tonnes of LNG per annum (Mtpa), comprises of four storage tanks each, with an overall capacity of 640,000 cubic metres.

Qatargas, in collaboration with Sinopec and PipeChina Beihai LNG Terminal, has cleared vessels up to size of Q-Max (266,000 cubic metres). This facilitates customer to receive larger volumes along with additional flexibility to wider range of LNG receiving terminals.

Since the first LNG delivery in September 2009 to date, Qatar has supplied China with more than 85 million tonnes of LNG. China is a key and strategic energy partner for the State of Qatar throughout the entire energy value chain. It is also a main driver of the growth in the global LNG market as the government adopts increasingly progressive environmental policies.

About Qatargas

Qatargas is the world’s largest LNG producing company with a production capacity of 42 MTA. The State of Qatar, as the world’s leading LNG producer, anticipates that the People’s Republic of China will become one of the world’s largest gas markets.

About Sinopec

China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group) is a super-large petroleum and petrochemical enterprise group, established by the state in July 1998 on the basis of reconstructing the former China Petrochemical Corporation. Beijingbased Sinopec Group has a registered capital of RMB 274.9 billion with the board chairman of Sinopec Group serving as its legal representative. Sinopec Group exercises the investor’s rights to the related state assets owned by its full subsidiaries, controlled companies and share-holding companies, including receiving returns on assets, making major decisions and appointing managers. The Group operates, manages and supervises state assets according to related laws, and shoulders the corresponding responsibility of maintaining and increasing the value of state assets.