Bloomberg: China Joins India Seeking Better LNG Contracts for Buyers

China’s biggest energy company joined India in seeking to renegotiate long-term liquefied natural gas supply contracts amid a global glut that’s driving spot prices to the lowest in more than five years.

China National Petroleum Corp. is looking for opportunities to rework the pricing method on its LNG supply contract with Qatar, Chairman Wang Yilin said in Beijing Wednesday. That follows a successful renegotiation by Petronet LNG Ltd. in December with Qatar’s RasGas Co., resulting in a drop by almost half of the prices the Indian importer was paying.

A global oversupply from the U.S. to Australia has strengthened the negotiating power of buyers. Long-term LNG contacts have probably never been this vulnerable as plunging spot prices encourage buyers to seek revisions, according to Jeff Brown, Singapore-based president of consulting firm FGE.