Norton Rose Fulbright has advised S-OIL Corp, one of South Korea’s largest refiners, on a 15-year, long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply contract with Petronas LNG Ltd., a subsidiary of Malaysian state-owned enterprise Petroliam Nasional (PETRONAS).

As part of the agreement, which was signed on August 25, 2017, it is reported that S-OIL will buy 700,000 tonnes of LNG annually from Petronas from March 2018 through March 2033, which it plans to use as fuel to run plants and as a feedstock for petrochemical products.

The Norton Rose Fulbright team on the deal was led by Singapore partner Ben Smith, who was supported by Sydney-based senior associate Tatiana Gotvig.

Ben Smith commented: “We are pleased to have successfully assisted S-OIL on their first LNG supply contract. S-OIL is a good example of the new types of players coming into the LNG market, in this case a large industrial consumer of gas that has made the most of domestic deregulation to access the international market for gas directly. We are seeing deregulation in a number of markets, which potentially will increase the market penetration of LNG in the region. Singapore has taken a different approach by selecting LNG importers to supply the domestic market. Interestingly, this deal is another example of PETRONAS transitioning from being a producer of LNG to having a trading portfolio of supply sources and customers. As the LNG industry evolves we are excited to support a range of customers, approaching the industry from all angles, from small scale and floating solutions to large scale liquefaction projects in the US, and we look forward to supporting clients’ evolving business models in the industry going forward.”