China plans to buy Russian gas at a discount
Chinese importers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) plan to purchase this raw material from Russia, where it is sold at a significant discount to the market price.
“China’s state-owned companies, including Sinopec and Petrochina, are negotiating with suppliers to buy spot LNG cargoes from Russia at a significant discount,” Bloomberg said, citing sources and traders.
According to traders, Russian LNG is sold at a discount of more than 10% compared to what is supplied from Central Asia. At the same time, China is not currently experiencing an acute shortage of LNG due to warm weather and reduced fears of the spread of the Corona virus, however, purchasing such cheap raw materials will allow the country to replenish its tanks before the seasonal rise in prices.
The sources also indicated that traders now prefer not to make large purchases, and a number of importers are considering hiring Russian companies to participate in tenders to purchase liquefied natural gas on their behalf in order to hide their plans from the authorities of other countries.
Earlier, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that despite the imposition of sanctions on Russia, China will continue to buy natural gas from Russia and maintain regular business contacts.
