Shell Eyes Deeper Role in Chinese LNG Market

Shell has signed a framework agreement with a private Chinese company called GCL Oil & Natural Gas Co to establish a joint venture to market LNG in eastern China, the Anglo-Dutch major told NGW on April 14.

"China has the fastest growing demand for natural gas, and we are keen to play a significant role in its development. We are already a leading importer of LNG in China and are excited to explore opportunities downstream to deliver LNG and gas to the customers premises, in partnership with a leading local partner like GCL," the vice president of Shell Energy Asia, Ajay Shah, said in an emailed statement. "We look forward to more such opportunities that can enable us to better serve Chinese customers and meet the country's long-term need for more and cleaner energy."

The proposed joint venture aims to develop an integrated value chain, covering supply from Shell's global LNG portfolio, regasification at terminals in Jiangsu to downstream customer sales, Shell told NGW.

GCL, a division of energy and power group GCL Holding, is one of a number of private LNG terminal developers that have emerged in China since Beijing ended the monopoly of state-owned giants CNOOC, PetroChina and Sinopec over the country's gas imports.