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ext time you pay your gas bill, the bill might be higher because of China’s geopolitical games. Only the election of pro fossil fuel Western governments can fix this situation.
China’s Taking Control of LNG as Global Demand Booms
Stephen Stapczynski
Mon, February 20, 2023, 8:00 AM GMT+10
(Bloomberg) — A rush by China to sign new long-term liquefied natural gas deals promises to give the nation even more control over the global market at a time when competition for cargoes is booming.
Chinese companies are sealing the most LNG purchase agreements of any nation and increasingly are becoming the sector’s key import intermediary. The Chinese buyers are reselling many of the cargoes to the highest bidders in Europe and Asia, effectively taking charge over a hefty chunk of supply.
Firms based in China account for roughly 15% of all contracts that’ll begin delivering LNG supply through 2027, according to an analysis of BloombergNEF data. That trend is set to increase as the companies seek to lock in more long-term agreements, which will effectively give their traders control over the fuel for decades.
Thanks to the mindless Western pursuit of Net Zero, China is increasingly in a position to impose a China tax on the entire world’s energy supply, or keep the gas for themselves if they so choose.
If the Chinese plan is to insert themselves into the middle, to make a profit by reselling the gas, their positioning makes sense. Man in the middle, cornering the market then forcing up prices is an old trick, which only works when there is a limited supply of something people can’t live without.
The obvious counter strategy to China making themselves the natural gas brokers of the world, and potentially making a fat profit from everyone’s gas bills by pushing up the price, is to break China’s monopoly, by flooding Western markets with increased domestic gas production.
