lng prices, page-27

Sorry Occam. But, where is that "soon to be exploited" gas in China? Did you read this morning's Energy News Bulletin about the possibility of China "exploiting" their shale gas? I posted it earlier. Sure, that's their "unconventional" gas, but, their own "conventional" gas is also mainly in the western areas and vast distances from the growth areas in the east. It will be WAY beyond 2016 before any, if any, of it ever even reaches the domestic markets that will by government mandate be required to substantially increase their use of LNG.

And one of the j/v partners in the Shantou GSA is a Chinese government owned company. Don't you think that SIGNED CONTRACTS mean anything? We are not talking MOUs or Agreements here, we have a legally binding contract, with certain conditions, that, if completed, make the Contract binding. So, until those conditions are not delivered, we must accept that we have a legally binding GSA which neither party, especially the Chinese Government, would be likely to "walk away from".

We talk a lot about how China has everyone by the proverbials and can do as they please, but, they are just as dependent on "commercial credibility" as anyone else.
To start "walking away from" legally binding contracts because they could suddenly get a "cheaper deal" would go over really well in the business community!! LOL.
They might be a Communist totalitarian regime, but, they are entirely dependent upon many other nations for very much of their resources that they require to continue to feed their burgeoning growth.
They certainly don't want to go back to the "bad old days" now that their people have "tasted" western pleasures. Have you seen the streets of Beijing and Shanghai lately? Where would all those Rollers, Jags, Ferraris and Lambo's go??