Short-term sales of crude oil and liquefied natural gas into China almost ground...
SINGAPORE - Short-term sales of crude oil and liquefied natural gas into China almost ground to a halt this week as a coronavirus outbreak slowed economic activity and hurt demand, and buyers pondered legal action to avoid having to honor purchase agreements, trade sources said.
China is the world’s largest importer of crude oil, having imported a record 506 million tonnes in 2019, or about 10 million barrels per day, according to Chinese government figures, and recently became the world’s largest importer of liquefied natural gas . Companies invoke force majeure when they cannot meet their contractual obligations because of circumstances beyond their control.
One supplier of LNG to China National Offshore Oil Corporation , told Reuters his firm received a potential notice of force majeure last week. In addition to the demand slump, several large oil and gas companies said they had restricted travel to China, including Royal Dutch Shell , Halliburton and U.S. refiner Phillips 66.Last week, a Chinese international trade promotion agency said it would offer force majeure certificates to companies struggling to cope with the impact of coronavirus.
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