China’s Guangdong Pearl River Investment Management Group said this week that it had signed a 15-year LNG sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with ConocoPhillips. The deal was struck at the 29th World Gas Conference, which is being held in Beijing this week.

The announcement came via Guangdong Pearl River’s WeChat account and few additional details were disclosed. Indeed, a ConocoPhillips spokesperson told Reuters that the US company was not sharing details of the agreement. However, S&P Global cited market sources as indicating that the contract is linked to Henry Hub prices, with supply expected to begin in 2028. And if this is the case, the market sources suggested that the cargoes under the contract will likely be coming from the US.

If this is true, this would likely be the first SPA to be signed by a Chinese company for US volumes since the imposition of Chinese tariffs on US LNG amid escalating trade tensions between Beijing and Washington.

Indeed, S&P went on to note that according to its Global Commodities at Sea data, China has not imported any LNG cargoes from the US since the first wave of tariffs was introduced in February this year. US-based volumes originally destined for Chinese import terminals had either been swapped or diverted into the spot market, the analytics firm added.

The deal appears to indicate confidence that LNG flows between the two countries will be restored by 2028.

In its statement, Guangdong Pearl River described the agreement as a milestone in the development of its gas industry and cited major shifts in the global gas market. It pointed to changing supply dynamics and increased price volatility in particular.

In a separate report, Reuters cited a source familiar with the matter as saying that ConocoPhillips would supply 300,000 tonnes per year (tpy) of LNG, also saying supplies were due to begin in 2028.