Sinopec Caps LNG Price for Winter Season

Chinese state-owned Sinopec January 9 said it has capped the price of gas sold at its LNG receiving terminals during the ongoing winter season at the peak price achieved in December. It said this was to maintain the supply of natural gas in the heating season and reflect the social responsibility of Sinopec.

Sinopec operates three receiving terminals at Tianjin, Beihai and Qingdao. In its statement  Sinopec did not provide any information about the highest price recorded in December 2018 nor did it say if the cap applies to LNG received at all the three terminals or any individual terminal or any two terminals.

However, Reuters earlier in the day reported that ceiling applies to LNG prices from its Tianjin and Qingdao terminals. The news agency also said, citing data from consultancy Zibo Longzhong Information Group, that highest price from Sinopec’s Tianjin terminal was yuan 5,330/mt ($15/mn Btu) in December, while the factory gate price from the Qingdao terminal was yuan 5,400/mt ($15.3/mn Btu).

China's winter season runs from November to March.