SINGAPORE, Sept 11 (Askume) – Major buyers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) are considering the risks of buying cargoes from the United States after President Joe Biden’s administration decided to stop issuing export licences for the ultra-cold fuel to non-free trade agreement countries.
Officials at Taiwan’s China National Petroleum Corporation and Germany’s SEFE, which trade LNG cargoes and sell them in Asia, stressed the importance of answering questions about the impact of the US export ban on Asian markets.
“I have more confidence in traditional LNG suppliers than in US LNG companies,” Chinese Communist Party Vice President Liao Jian said at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting.
“Most of the Asian buyers we rely on are traditional LNG suppliers who value long-term relationships more. When you have difficulty completing contracts, people sit down and talk,” he said.
SEFE Executive Vice President (Asia) Fabian Corr said energy security was a top priority this year, adding that SEFE may also be “a little more stringent” to ensure supplies.
“We will not focus on supply just because the US is the cheapest. We would like to have some diversity in geographical supply,” he said.
“In the U.S. context, we’re quite hesitant right now, which means we prefer something a little more confident.”
Regarding Russian LNG supplies, Liao also said that purchases of Russian LNG cargoes by China and India will ensure that the market remains balanced.
He said, “If Chinese companies or Indian companies continue to buy from Russia, they will not be able to compete with us in other markets.”
