LNG Exports, Another Trade War Victim

OilPrice reports China Halts U.S. LNG Imports Amid Tariff War

China hasn't imported liquefied natural gas from the United States since early February, as the tariff war hit energy trade and could have long-term consequences for U.S. LNG export contracts.

The last LNG cargo to arrive in China from America was a tanker from Corpus Christi, which docked in the southern Chinese province of Fujian on February 6, according to shipping data cited by the Financial Times.

The Chinese tariffs on U.S. goods, including energy products, and the broader trade war between the world's two biggest economies could have long-term consequences on the ability of new U.S. LNG export projects to attract anchor offtake commitments, analysts warn.

"I do not think Chinese LNG importers will ever contract any new US LNG," Anne-Sophie Corbeau, a gas specialist at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy, told FT.

Following the tariffs, Chinese LNG buyers with long-term supply contracts with U.S. producers have started reselling the cargoes to Europe, Bloomberg reported, citing trading sources. What's more, Chinese traders have grown cold towards new long-term commitments for future supply from the United States, instead seeking long-term deals with gas producers in the Middle East and the Asia Pacific.

Goodbye US LNG Hello Russia