China and US energy officials brag about cooperation despite tariffs

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Energy exchanges with China will continue to be supported in the long run, oil and Sino-US forum officials said in Houston on Wednesday, as the natural gas trade dispute worsened.

The cooperation could be expanded and more could be done to promote trade and investment between the two countries, said Li Fanrong, deputy administrator of China for the National Energy Administration, in his opening speech. There is effective cooperation between China and the United States, he said.

The annual forum began a day after China announced it would impose a $ 60 billion tariff on US imports, including a 10 percent tariff on liquefied natural gas imports. electronics, furniture and chemicals.

"Energy cooperation is likely in the long run, despite short-term trade problems, to correct our global trade agreements," said Steve Winberg, deputy secretary of the Office of Fossil Energy of the US Department of Energy.

Hosted by the United States Energy Association (USEA), a group seeking to advance energy infrastructure projects, the forum aims to strengthen cooperation between the energy industries of the United States and China.

Despite trade tensions, some conference participants said they were optimistic about the energy relationship between China and the US that would result from tariffs.

"All players in the sector consider China as the main demand market. I do not think the discussion of trade issues has changed the situation, "said Robert Gee, chairman of the Gee Strategies Group and former deputy secretary of the Office of Fossil Energy during the Clinton administration.

While energy officials had not alluded to the trade war in their opening remarks, some US government officials were initially worried that the Chinese delegation might not be participating in the event. after that some members of a person familiar with the subject said.

The bulk of the event was closed to the media and access to Chinese and American energy representatives was restricted.

Yet Wednesday's forum has welcomed nearly 200 people, the largest participation of the last 18 years, said Barry Worthington, executive director of the USEA.

"There is a different trading relationship than it was in the past," Worthington said, noting an increase in US exports.

The tariffs threaten to jeopardize the development of the US LNG export sector, which sees China as a major trading partner.

Exports of petroleum products and LNG to China have increased rapidly over the past two years. The United States exported 300,000 barrels of crude oil a day to China in the first half of 2018, and in July exported 56 cargoes of LNG to China, totaling nearly 190 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

China imported about 10 percent of total US LNG exports, he added.

The United States has exported more than 1.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas since the start of LNG exports in 2016, thanks to the shale boom in the country, according to the DOE.

Exports are forecast to increase by an average of 9.9 billion cubic feet per day in 2018, up 15 percent from last year's levels, the DOE said last week.