Platts: China to drive 'hard bargain' on price of Canadian LNG

China will look to drive "a hard bargain" on prices when signing LNG off-take deals with Canadian producers in large part because of its recently signed supply deal with Russia, an official with China National Offshore Oil Corp. said Thursday.

"We are in a strong position with the Russia deal and that puts us in the driver's seat while conducting price negotiations in Canada," Chen Wei Dong, chief energy researcher with the national oil company's Energy Economics Institute said on the sidelines of the Canada LNG Export Conference and Exhibition in Calgary.

China in May signed an deal with Russia to import 38 billion cubic meters/year of gas through a pipeline for 30 years.

"We are negotiating another deal with Russia, which we are hoping to sign late this year or early 2015," Dong said, noting the agreements are part of China's efforts to diversify its energy sources. MORE