The world’s biggest oil and gas players are gathering for a summit in Washington D.C. this week that will be overshadowed by the specter of shifting trade patterns due to a trade dispute between the United States and China.
As Reuters reports, the uncertainty comes at a historic moment for the United States, which has become the world’s biggest natural gas producer, one of the top crude oil producers, and a growing exporter of both. It’s hosting the triennial World Gas Conference for the first time in 30 years.
Beijing this month proposed 25% tariffs on U.S. petroleum imports, a retaliation against President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods that is expected to dent sales to the U.S. shale industry’s largest customer—adding new pressure for firms that produce natural gas as a byproduct of crude production.
While LNG imports have so far been spared, the industry is concerned that the supercooled gas could be next if China’s talks with Washington sour—something that would disadvantage U.S. developers but help rivals also courting China.
The conference will draw executives from global energy giants like ExxonMobil, BP and Total SA, along with senior officials from the U.S. State Department’s energy bureau, and ministers from energy producers and consumers like Argentina and Indonesia. Read the full story.
