Oxford Energy Podcast – Force majeure notices from Chinese LNG buyers: prelude to a renegotiation?
In early February 2020, China’s largest LNG importer invoked force majeure on cargoes. A month later, PetroChina followed suit, issuing force majeure notices on LNG and pipeline deliveries. The fall in domestic demand and logistical challenges at ports due to the COVID-19 response promoted the notices, weighing on an LNG market that is already struggling with weak demand and growing supplies. In this podcast, David Ledesma, Agniezska Ason and Michal Meidan discuss force majeure clauses in LNG sales and purchase agreements; why Chinese buyers opted to invoke them and what they mean for contract renegotiations going forward.
