Platts: China's Sinopec Could Start Trading LNG from 2016

State-owned Sinopec, or China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, is considering trading LNG from 2016, a source close to the company said Tuesday, December 16.

"[Sinopec] is exploring the possibilities of selling volumes on a spot basis," the source said.

The Beijing-headquartered buyer aims to trade some of the volumes from its existing long-term contract with the 9 million mt/year ConocoPhillips-operated Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) project on Australia's eastern coast.

Sinopec has existing contracts to offtake 7.6 million mt/year of LNG from APLNG starting in mid 2015, and also has a 25% stake in the APLNG liquefaction project. MORE