PetroChina will begin commissioning its 3 million mt/year Dalian LNG terminal in mid-November, market sources said Friday.

A source close to the company said the exact date was not yet known but the cargo was coming from Qatar.

PetroChina did not confirm the price, but a trader said it was agreed a month or two ago and fixed in the low $18s/MMBtu.

Platts reported previously that Dalian LNG was due to start up in June, but it was delayed, with PetroChina's majority-owned subsidiary Kunlun Energy saying in August that the first phase of Dalian LNG was to be commissioned by the fourth quarter of 2011.

The startup of Dalian was pushed back by delays in completing the pipeline taking gas from the terminal.