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China Axes Imports of Most U.S. Commodities in Escalating Trade War

Oil & Gas‚ Oil and Gas Industry | intent | April 22, 2025 | Comment off

China slashed its imports of many U.S. energy and agricultural commodities in March amid intensifying trade and tariff tensions with the United States, which are set to further reduce Chinese purchases of American goods this month and in the coming months.
China’s LNG imports from the United States crashed to zero in March as China slapped tariffs on American LNG and other energy products, making these uneconomical for Chinese buyers.
Last year, U.S. LNG represented about 5% of China’s imports of the super-chilled fuel.

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China Uses Gray Trade Tactics To Circumvent U.S. Tariffs

Oil & Gas‚ Oil and Gas Industry‚ Uncategorized | intent | April 16, 2025 | Comment off

The March export numbers could be a glimpse into what’s coming, but not immediately. In fact, some analysts expect a slowdown in Chinese exports in the coming months while the dust from the tariffs settles. “Exports will likely weaken in coming months as the U.S. tariffs [have] skyrocketed,” Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, told CNBC. He added that “in the short term, I expect chaos in supply chains and potential shortage in the U.S. that may drive up inflation.”

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Oil Prices Stabilize on Tariff Exemptions and China Imports

Oil & Gas‚ Oil and Gas Industry | intent | April 15, 2025 | Comment off

At the time of writing, Brent crude was trading at just over $65 per barrel, with West Texas Intermediate at $61.71 per barrel, after on Friday the Trump administration announced a tariff exemption for certain electronics and semiconductors. Optimism wavered this week, however, as Washington launched investigations into pharmaceutical and semiconductor imports in what the media reported was part of setting the stage for tariffs on these two groups of products. President Trump himself said semiconductors were on the line for tariffs.

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Unconventional Resources Fuel China’s Energy Growth

Oil & Gas‚ Oil and Gas Industry | intent | April 11, 2025 | Comment off

At the heart of China’s energy strategy lies its ambitious, seven-year (2019-2025) domestic oil and gas production campaign launched by the National Energy Administration in response to growing energy security concerns. The results have been promising: since the campaign’s inception China has reversed a domestic production decline and increased output by approximately 480,000 barrels per day. However, the country’s dependency on foreign oil remains high, with imports filling more than 70% of Chinese demand.

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Iraq’s 7 Million bpd Oil Production Goal Draws Swift Response from Chinese Firms

Oil & Gas‚ Oil and Gas Industry | intent | April 11, 2025 | Comment off

The recent reiteration by Iraq Oil Ministry of a 7 million barrels per day (bpd) oil production target within the next five years has spurred activity among Chinese firms that continue to dominate the country’s oil and gas sector. As it stands, more than a third of all Iraq’s proven oil and gas reserves and over two-thirds of its current production are managed by Beijing’s companies, according to industry figures. This translates into Chinese companies having a combined direct share in around 24 billion barrels of reserves and responsibility for production of around 3.0 million bpd. The latest in the very long line of Beijing’s firms to benefit from its ongoing stealthy takeover of Iraq’s huge oil and gas assets is China Huanqiu Contracting & Engineering Company (HQC), which has signed a huge project management consultancy contract for the supergiant West Qurna 1 oilfield.

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China’s Oil Giants Bet on Natural Gas as Fuel Demand Peaks

Oil & Gas‚ Oil and Gas Industry | intent | April 4, 2025 | Comment off

China’s biggest state-held energy firms are following the demand trends in the world’s top crude oil and natural gas importer.

After decades of growth, Chinese demand for transport fuels is peaking as electric vehicles and LNG-powered trucks are seizing market share from gasoline and diesel. But natural gas demand is only going up, and it’s expected to continue growing for decades.

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China’s Falling LNG Imports are a Boon for Europe

Oil & Gas‚ Oil and Gas Industry | intent | March 28, 2025 | Comment off

It is impossible to say for how long China’s LNG imports will remain subdued, so this is really an opportune time for European buyers to strike years-long deals for liquefied gas. Over the short term, Europe will likely avoid stratospheric gas prices as it starts replenishing its gas inventories—these are currently so low that the continent will need to buy an additional 20 million tons of LNG this year, according to Reuters calculations cited by Bousso in his column. That translates into some 250 cargos, which, thanks to China’s weaker demand, will be more readily available for European buyers.

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China Energy Imports Down at Start of 2025

Oil & Gas‚ Oil and Gas Industry | intent | March 7, 2025 | Comment off

Chinese energy imports broadly fell at the start of 2025, after last year’s record shipments of coal and gas created an overhang of supply and demand for oil continued to ease.

Crude oil imports fell 5 percent on-year in January and February to 83.85 million tons as buyers had to scout for alternative supplies after the US tightened sanctions on Russian and Iranian cargoes.

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