KUALA LUMPUR (May 26): Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), which has sealed a liquefied natural gas (LNG) contract extension from JOVO Group Co Ltd, intends to further grow its LNG footprint in China.

In a statement today, the national oil firm said the contract extension has strengthened its LNG market presence in China.

"Backed by a solid and stable supply portfolio, Petronas intends to grow its footprint in China by increasing its LNG supply to existing buyers and expanding its customer base," said Petronas vice president of LNG marketing & Trading, Upstream Ahmad Adly Alias after the signing ceremony.

Earlier, he inked the contract with JOVO Group president and chief executive officer Zhang Jiangguo. The contract will ensure a stable and significant increase in LNG supply to JOVO up until at least 2023, Petronas said, as it seeks to expand downstream market to meet end-users demand in China.

"Petronas is dedicated to ensuring that our buyers' requirements for stable and competitively-priced LNG supply are met," said Ahmad Adly, adding the contract extension proves the group appreciates the Chinese culture of working together and understands what it takes for Chinese LNG buyers to grow and succeed in this market.

"We were here from JOVO's infancy in the LNG market, and we will be here to support them to grow further," added Ahmad Adly.

JOVO owns and operates the Dongguan LNG terminal based in Guangdong, South China, where stability of supply and competitive pricing are fundamental to its growth strategies.

Petronas has successfully delivered conventional deliveries into Yangshan, partial cargo deliveries into Dongguan and small vessel deliveries into Shanghai Wuhaogao and Hainan Macun.

Deliveries into China will typically take only five days. Petronas has also diversified its LNG supply portfolio in recent years with the addition of Gladstone LNG and the upcoming Floating LNG projects in offshore Sabah and Sarawak.