Industrial gas demand in North China is showing signs of a sharp slowdown as small manufacturers shut their doors or buy less gas, unable to cope with a drop-off in export orders and costs related to Beijing’s pollution control and reform measures. With spot orders from these users drying up, many dealers are trying to negotiate for lower volumes on existing liquefied natural gas (LNG) contracts with top supplier China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), several sources told Reuters. The contract talks come only six months after the deals were done with CNOOC [SASACY.UL]. The unexpected fall-off in demand from hundreds of small factories from a key industrial region could end up forcing Asian LNG […]