Woodside strikes 15-year LNG deal with China Resources Gas

Woodside Energy has signed a 15-year deal to supply LNG to China Resources Gas International, marking the Australian firm’s fourth long-term LNG deal in Asia since the start of 2024.

Under the agreement, Woodside will deliver approximately 0.6mn tonnes per year (tpy) of LNG to China on a delivered basis starting in 2027.

“This marks the first time Woodside, on a standalone basis, has signed a long-term sale agreement with a customer in China, Asia’s largest consuming market for LNG,” said Mark Abbotsford, Woodside’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer. “We are very pleased to have launched our relationship with China Resources, the country’s leading gas utility. The agreement again demonstrates the depth and length of demand for LNG in Asian markets as nations in the region seek to guarantee energy supplies.”

For China Resources Gas International, the deal is also a first – marking its initial LNG procurement agreement spanning a 15-year term.

“We are delighted to sign our first long-term SPA with Woodside Energy, a leading supplier of LNG globally,” said Yang Ping, group chairman of China Resources Gas. “Woodside's growing global LNG portfolio and its proven track record as an operator have created a solid foundation for the agreement. The signing of this SPA will also open up the potential for future cooperation between the two companies globally.”

Woodside signed three LNG supply deals in Asia in early 2024  – one with India’s Bharat Petroleum for 0.8mn tpy, coming into effect around 2026-27 and lasting 15 years, another with India’s GAIL, for 0.5-1.0mn tpy, from late 2026 for 10-15 years, and a third with Japan’s Kyushu Electric, for 0.3mn tpy, from 2026 for 10 years. 

Previously, China Resources Gas International was a subsidiary of China Resources Gas Group (CR Gas), registered in Hong Kong in 1994 and in turn a subsidiary of state-owned conglomerate China Resources (Holdings) Co. It has only procured gas on a spot basis or through intermediaries in the past. 

CR Gas is a leading gas utilities group in China, primarily involved in downstream city pipeline gas distribution, while also operating natural gas filling stations. It works in 22 Chinese provinces, with 21.9mn customers.