China-Australia LNG agreement expires due to Australian non-performance

Reporters learned from China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) January 5 that the agreement on the Browse liquefied natural gas (LNG) project signed between CNPC and Australia-based Woodside Petroleum has expired, mainly because the Australian side failed to supply LNG to the Chinese side as scheduled.

CNPC and Woodside Petroleum signed a framework agreement on the Browse LNG project September 2007, in which Woodside Petroleum would annually supply CNPC 2 to 3 million tons of LNG over the next 15 to 20 years, with a contract value totaling over 40 billion U.S. dollars. The validity period of the agreement lasted until the end of 2009.

CNPC said that as the development of the Browse LNG project involving the framework agreement was postponed, Woodside Petroleum could not supply LNG in the time agreed. Therefore, the validity period of the framework agreement was not extended.

By People's Daily Online