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Qatar state-owned energy company, QatarEnergy (QE), announced on Monday the signing of a long-term contract with China to supply the latter with natural gas.

The 27-year energy contract was dubbed by Qatar's Minister of Energy and QatarEnergy's CEO, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, as being the longest contract known to the industry.

The signed contract "marks the longest gas supply agreement in the history of the LNG industry" the minister said.

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According to the deal, the Gulf country would supply the China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) with 4 million tonnes of LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) annually from its newly established North Field East (NFE) LNG project.

In addition to the supply deal, the CEO of Sinopec also stated that he submitted a request to acquire a share in the Qatari LNG project, where Western energy companies have had the biggest share until today.

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Earlier in October, Qatari Energy Minister Saad Al-Kaabi announced that Shell will buy a 9.375% stake in North Field South (NFS), another LNG project developed by the country, which will increase Qatar's LNG output capacity by 16 million tons per year.

TotalEnergies SE also joined the project in September, with a 9.375% stake worth approximately $1.5 billion.

American ConcoPhilips energy giant later acquired the final shares offered by QE at a 6.25%, while the state-owned energy company will keep the 

Kaabi previously stated that Qatar was selling a combined 25% while keeping 75% of shares.

The NFE project includes eighty development wells in addition to eight unmanned wellhead platforms.

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The project is a pillar of the Gulf country's plan to expand its LNG production to hit 126 million tonnes annually by 2027, including the production capacity of the NFS.