Zhang Yaoyu, PCI's global head of LNG trading, declined to comment on the company's traded volume, but said trading was part of the company's overall strategy. By 2026, Chinese companies are expected to have contracted LNG supplies of more than 100 million tons a year. That could mean a surplus of up to 8 million tons that year, according to consultancy Poten & Partners, or a deficit of 5 million to 6 million tons based on estimates from pricing agency ICIS. Qatar, which will be China's largest supplier for 2026, however, offers traditional LNG contracts that are restricted to a single destination or country. These openings in the market and a more liberalised domestic gas market have also prompted smaller Chinese gas distributors and importers to expand into the trading space.

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Persons: Dado Ruvic, Toby Copson, Copson, it's, Zhang Yaoyu, Zhang, Jason Feer, Feer, Chen Aizhu, Emily Chow, Marwa Rashad, Yuka Obayashi, Tom Hogue Organizations: REUTERS, 2026 Companies, Shell, BP, International Energy Agency, Offshore Oil Corp, China Gas Holdings, HK, Qatar, Trident LNG, Sinochem, PetroChina International, Poten, Partners, Rystad Energy, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Reuters, PCI, U.S, Beijing Gas, Zhejiang Energy, JOVO Energy, Thomson Locations: Qatar, US, Europe, Asia SINGAPORE, London, Singapore, U.S, Oman, Canada, Mozambique, Shanghai, China, Japan, Beijing, Central Asia, Russia, Southeast Asia, South Korea, Ukraine, ENN, Tokyo