27-year China-Qatar LNG contract, Japan-Israel 'FTA negotiations'

China and Qatar signed a 27-year contract for liquefied natural gas (LNG), and Japan started a free trade agreement (FTA) with Israel.
In the longest LNG contract to date, Qatar Energy has signed a 27-year contract with China's Sinopec to supply 4 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas.
After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, competition for LNG intensified in continental countries, and continental Europe is struggling to replace 40% of Russian pipeline gas.
Israel has agreed to open contacts with Japan to reach a free trade agreement with bilateral trade of more than $3.5 billion, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said on the 22nd.
An Israeli statement reported by Reuters said the first step would be holding a meeting between representatives of Israel's foreign and economic ministries with Japanese officials.
Israel exported arms to Japan last year to $1.241 billion, up 8% from 2020.
The Israeli statement announced that imports from Japan to Israel had increased by 10% since last year, to $2.333 billion in 2021.
In a statement, Israeli Ambassador to Japan Gilad Cohen said, "This is a meaningful process that will lead to lower tariffs, cheaper sales of Japanese cars imported into Israel and more Israeli goods exported to Japan."
Reuters reported that Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid hailed the move as a diplomatic achievement.
"European companies looking to buy LNG need to look at how Asian buyers are approaching their negotiations and are willing to engage in long-term deals," said Saad Al-Kabi, head of Qatar's energy contract with Sinopec, ahead of the signing, Reuters reported. It is an important milestone in the first sales and purchase agreement (SPA) of the North Field East (NEP) project and is 4 million tonnes in 27 years to China's Sinopec,” reported on the 21st.
"It means the long-term deal is here and important to both the seller and the buyer," said signatory Kabi in a media interview in Doha. revealed
Qatar's new contract system, NEP, is part of the world's largest gas field, which the existing North Field shares with Iran, and Qatar's stake is 'South Pars'.
Qatar Energy kicked off its second-phase Northfield expansion plan amid the outbreak of war in Ukraine earlier this year, and has awarded five contracts with the larger Northfield East (NEP), increasing Qatar's liquefaction capacity from 126 million tonnes per year to 7,700 tons by 2027. Production started increasing to 10,000 tons.
Among them, the transaction with China's Sinopec (staterun oil company) on the 21st is the first supply transaction led by NFE.
China's Sinopec said in a statement that it would participate in negotiations for a stake in Qatar's NFE, saying that "Qatar's supply agreement is a key component of NFE's integrated partnership."
Qatar Energy will retain an overall 75% stake as it expands production and will give up up to a 5% stake to some buyers, contracts chief Kavi told Reuters.
Reuters reported in June, citing other sources, that “China’s state-owned oil majors are in pre-negotiations with Qatar to invest in NFEs.”
The war in Ukraine made Qatar the world's leading LNG exporter, and the Northfield expansion project will help continental countries boost its position as an alternative to Russia and ensure long-term gas supplies to Europe, Reuters commented.

Korea and Israel signed an FTA in May of last year, and Korea signed a contract to eliminate tariffs on 95.2% of all items, and Israel on 95.1%.46.9% (2020) of Israel's exports are automobiles, with the elimination of tariffs on Korea's main exports, automobiles (tariff rate 7%), parts (6-12%), textiles (6%), and cosmetics (12%).

As of 2019, South Korea has the largest market share (17.6%), surpassing Japan (15.2%) for the first time in Israel's imported car market, and Japan's FTA seems to be establishing a low-cost system between Israeli weapons and Japanese cars.