Soc Gen says China could buy US LNG in future

China may prefer to buy US LNG in the future as an alternative to buying gas from Russia, Soc Gen said in a report.

With US Gulf Coast LNG expected to materialize in 2016, China may first contemplate a potential US LNG deal before inking a supply agreement with Russia’s Gazprom.

With apparent lack of progress in the gas pricing issue between China and Russia, it seems Beijing is in no particular hurry to sign the contract, the report said.

In 2006, Moscow and Beijing signed an initial agreement on gas supplies, when they agreed to construct two pipelines to transport a total of 68 billion cubic meters/year of gas from Russia to China over 30 years. Gazprom and China's state-owned CNPC in 2010 subsequently signed a legally binding agreement on the supply of up to 30 bcm/year.

Negotiations since then have been bogged down by pricing disagreements.