Since August, China has had a partial lockdown of more than 70 cities because of its strict zero-covid policy. Demand for energy has fallen.
What Happened: Shenzhen, one of the world's busiest container port cities, continues to experience lock-downs.
The production and manufacturing demand in China has slumped because of this. The Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese companies holding long-term contracts with U.S. natural gas LNG are selling excess energy imports for a profit.
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The most recent shipment to Europe is estimated to have generated between $110 million and $130 million for a single shipment of LNG.
Only 19 U.S. LNG vessels docked in China in 2022, compared to 133 vessels last year, according to the report.
After Europe wentbbled up gas imports for the first half of the year, they have successfully brought its gas-storage occupancy rate up to 77%. If the current projections continue, Europe will fill its gas storage facilities to 80% by November, the Nikkei reported.
In the first half of the year, approximately 7% of Europe's gas imports come from Chinese liquified natural gas, accounting for 4 million tons of gas resold.
Russian gas supply to Europe is at a 40 year low, as Europe is more dependent on Beijing's energy imports to avoid a frozen winter, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
In September, Gazprom announced that it would use the Russian ruble and Chinese yuan as payments for gas exports, instead of the euro, in an effort to circumvent Western sanctions, according to Business Insider.