Chinese firms are set to become a major trading force in the global liquefied natural gas market in coming years, thanks to liberalizations at home and recently signed long-term contracts for record amounts of LNG from U.S. suppliers.
Setting their sights beyond the domestic market, state-run Sinopec Corp., Sinochem Group, privately-controlled ENN Natural Gas Co. and China Gas are building up trading teams from Beijing and Singapore to London.
China's push into the international LNG market comes two decades after it made a similar big splash in oil trading, and will put its firms in competition with established players like Shell, TotalEnergies and Vitol.