Qatar, Shell agree first LNG sales to China

BEIJING, April 10 (Reuters) - Top LNG exporter Qatar signed on Thursday two landmark deals to sell liquefied natural gas to Chinese oil giants PetroChina (PTR.N) and CNOOC (0883.HK), its first such sales to the world's second-biggest energy consumer.

Qatargas will sell 2 million tonnes a year of LNG to CNOOC, currently China's sole LNG importer, starting from 2009, according to a Heads of Agreement the two signed in Beijing.

Qatargas together with parter Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) agreed to sell 3 million tonnes of LNG a year to PetroChina from 2011, formalising a deal that the Chinese firm announced several weeks ago. (Reporting by Emma Graham-Harrison, Editing by Jacqueline Wong)