Chinese oil companies try to renegotiate import deals

Sinopec is negotiating with Origin amid weak gas demand and oversupply on their own soil

Chinese national oil companies (NOCs) are desperately trying to renegotiate term liquefied natural gas (LNG) import deals as they face weaker gas demand and oversupply at home. Talk of reneging on deals, seems just that, but such a move could trigger the collapse of long-term contract pricing formulas, especially if an established Asian buyer followed suit, analysts reckon. Sinopec, China’s second-largest NOC, is attempting to renegotiate its term deal with the Origin-led Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) scheme, resorting to various negotiating tactics, sources close to the project told Petroleum Economist. This include potentially forced delays in the construction of its Guangxi LNG import ter