Qatargas wants to double its long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies to Asia from 11 million tonnes currently to more than 20 million tonnes, a company official said.

"Over the long term, we should be able to double the size of our portfolio in Asia Pacific in excess of 20 million tonnes with additionals sales to Japan, China and others," said Andrew Seck, assistant director of LNG marketing for Qatargas, at an industry conference in Singapore. Seck did not give a timeline for the increase.

Qatargas' long-term contracts of rougly 11 million tonnes in Asia Pacific are currently split between Japan and China, and the company hopes its recent short-term boost in supply to Japan would lead to more long-term supply commitments.

"Qatar has diverted a large number of LNG for the short term to Japan. Our support to our anchor buyers went well beyond the 4 million tonnes and as of today stands at 9 million tonnes of additional LNG. My job is to ensure that Qatargas converts this short-term boost for Asia Pacific sales to long term commitments," Seck said. - Reuters