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Natural Gas Prices News

26 Jan 2024

Freeport LNG Unit Faces Month-long Outage

(File photo: Freeport LNG)

U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) company Freeport LNG said on Friday it expects one of three liquefaction units at its Texas plant will be out of service for about a month after it faced a technical issue during last week's Arctic freeze.This shutdown was the latest in a series of incidents at the plant since it exited an eight-month outage from June 2022 to February 2023 following a fire and explosion.Since April, at least one liquefaction train at the plant has shut or tripped - sometimes several times…

08 Aug 2023

China's July Crude Imports Drop to Lowest Since January

Credit: Igor Groshev/AdobeStock

China's crude oil imports in July fell 18.8% from the previous month to the lowest daily rate since January, customs data showed on Tuesday, as major exporters cut back overseas shipments and domestic stocks continued to build. Crude shipments into the world's biggest oil importer in July totaled 43.69 million metric tons, or 10.29 million barrels per day (bpd), the data from the General Administration of Customs showed. June's 12.67 million bpd of imports were the second-highest on record.

14 Dec 2022

Australia Gas Price Cap Boosts LNG Import Terminal Plans but Adds risk

©4680.photo/AdobeStock

Australia's plan to control domestic natural gas prices, which producers say will deter the development of new supply, is expected to boost the prospects for proposed LNG import terminals but potentially defeat the government's aim to cut energy bills.Parliament is set to pass legislation on Thursday to cap gas prices at A$12 per gigajoule (GJ) for a year and then require a "reasonable price" for domestic sales after the cap expires.Industry players say the plan, which surprised producers…

26 Oct 2022

LNG Ships Play Waiting Game Off Spain's Coast as Higher Prices Eyed

Several ships carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) anchored off Spain's Bay of Cadiz are likely to stay there until late November in anticipation of a rise in European gas prices, industry sources said.Dozens of ships have been circling off the Iberian coast and in the Mediterranean sea for weeks, unable to secure slots to unload their LNG cargoes as plants that convert the superchilled fuel back to gas are operating at maximum capacity.The high volume of LNG in floating storage exposes Europe's lack of "regasification" capacity just as the continent stocks up for a winter of substantially less Russian pipeline gas.But industry sources say some of the waiting ships are part of a trading strategy from their respective companies…

04 Oct 2022

More U.S. LNG Heads to Europe Despite Output Constraints

Credit: alexlmx/AdobeStock

U.S. producers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) boosted exports to Europe in September even as a plant outage kept overall shipments below the average for the first eight months of 2022, Refinitiv Eikon data showed on Monday.A June fire at the United States' second-largest exporter Freeport LNG has the country's output below its full processing capacity even as demand and prices for the superchilled gas soar on European buyers seeking alternatives to Russian gas.A total of 87 cargoes departed from U.S.

03 Aug 2022

US Regulator to Allow Freeport LNG to Resume Partial Operations in October

(File photo: Freeport LNG)

The second-largest U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter on Wednesday said it reached an agreement with a federal regulator that will allow it to resume some operations at its Quintana, Texas, plant in October.Freeport LNG shut the plant, which supplies about 20% of U.S. LNG exports, following an explosion and fire on June 8. Its closure helped to push up LNG prices in Europe and Asia, and dampening U.S. natural gas prices.The operator reached a consent agreement with the…

21 Jun 2022

Tankers Divert to Trinidad, Maryland After Freeport LNG Blast

At least six tankers set to load liquefied natural gas (LNG) at Freeport LNG this month have been diverted following the June 8 blast that shut the Texas facility, Refinitiv Eikon vessel tracking data showed.A partial restart of the Quintana, Texas, plant is not expected until at least September, the company said last week, leaving about 40 cargoes to be canceled or re-scheduled. The loss has European LNG buyers and some U.S. shale producers reeling, while rivals Cheniere Energy and Sempra LNG rush to produce more LNG to offset the losses.Freeport accounts for roughly 20% of U.S. LNG processing capacity, drawing 2.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of natural gas, primarily from U.S. shale fields.

14 Jun 2022

Freeport LNG Targets Year End for Full Operations After Fire

(File photo: Freeport LNG)

Freeport LNG, one of the largest operators of liquefied natural gas export plants in the United States,on Tuesday said last week's fire damage to its Texas plant would keep it fully offline until September with only partial operation through to the year end.Natural gas prices slumped in the United States and soared in Europe on the lengthier shutdown as the Quintana, Texas, facility produces roughly 20% of U.S. LNG exports and has been a major supplier to Europe, which has sought…

28 Apr 2022

World Energy Reports: Gas Supply Fears Drive Interest in FSRUs in Europe

Credit: Karel/AdobeStock

Fears of gas supply interruptions due to Russian gas export constraints are driving interest and demand for floating regasification terminals, with contracting activity for oil and gas floaters also being quite active, World Energy Reports said in April 2022 Floating Production Systems Report. Tensions in East Europe and Covid outbreak in China continue to rattle the energy sector. Oil prices remain above $100, despite efforts to lower prices by releasing crude from strategic reserves…

19 Apr 2022

Gunvor Reports Highest Profit Since 2015

(Photo: Flex LNG)

Global energy trader Gunvor Group reported a net profit of $726 million for 2021, the highest since 2015, buoyed by its natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) divisions, the company said on Tuesday.The profit was the highest since 2015 when net profit was boosted by the sale of most of its Russian assets and was up on the $320 million the Geneva-based company made in 2020 when refining impairments took the shine off its record gross profit.Gunvor's rivals have seen record profits on higher oil volatility and skyrocketing natural gas prices in the second half of 2021.

30 Dec 2021

Oil Firms Predict Rising Output, But Warn of Higher Costs

© Quimey / Adobe Stock

U.S. oil and gas executives are predicting higher production and drilling activity next year as oil prices climb, but say they face sharply higher costs, according to a poll released on Wednesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.Some 49% of executives surveyed said they aim to expand output next year, while 15% said their main focus would be to maintain existing production levels and 13% plan to focus on reducing debt. Six-month outlooks remained positive, but the index declined…

03 Dec 2021

Gas Price Windfall Makes Gazprom Patient Over Nord Stream 2 Delay

Credit: Nord Stream 2 (File Photo)

Windfall revenues from high European gas prices mean Russia's Gazprom will not start pumping gas through the Nord Stream 2 pipeline before certification and it will not press Germany to speed up the process, two sources said.Pumping gas without the German approval would only incur a modest fine, but as Germany gets new political leadership and Russia's ties with the West are severely strained, a source at Gazprom said it was content to wait."We don't want to seek faster approval for the pipeline.

22 Nov 2021

Nord Stream 2 Pipeline Suspension Could be Short-lived

Credit: Nord Stream 2

The suspension of the approval process for the Russian Nord Stream 2 pipeline by a German regulator could be short-lived as Europe is hungry for more gas, an analyst said on Monday after meeting officials of Russian state gas giant Gazprom.Last week, Germany's energy regulator temporarily halted the certification process for the new pipeline that will carry Russian gas into Europe, throwing up a new roadblock to the contentious project and driving up regional gas prices.German…

15 Oct 2021

China Looks to Lock in US LNG as Energy Crunch Raises Concerns

© Anatoly Kolodey / Adobe Stock

Major Chinese energy companies are in advanced talks with U.S. exporters to secure long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG)supplies, as soaring gas prices and domestic power shortages heighten concerns about the country's fuel security, several sources said.At least five Chinese firms, including state major Sinopec Corp and China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) and local government-backed energy distributors like Zhejiang Energy, are in discussions with U.S. exporters, mainly Cheniere Energy and Venture Global…

11 Oct 2021

Baltic Index Falls, Capesizes Hold Near 13-year High

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The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index slipped on Monday, as a decline in capesize rates offset gains in smaller vessel segments, although the main index held close to a 13-year high.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize vessels, fell for a second straight session, by 38 points or 0.7%, to 5,488. The index hit its highest in more than 13 years, at 5,650 points, on Oct. 7.The capesize index shed 137 points, or 1.4%, to 9,975, but held close to its highest since 2008.

06 Oct 2021

Gazprom's Nord Stream 2 Can Challenge EU Rules, Court Adviser Says

Credit: Nord Stream 2

Gazprom's Swiss unit can challenge an EU gas rule that requires gas producers to be separate companies from those that control the pipeline, an adviser to the EU's top court said on Wednesday.Russia's Gazprom owns operator Nord Stream 2 and is the planned gas supplier for the Russia-to-Germany link that was completed last month.The opinion from Advocate General Michal Bobek, if confirmed by the EU Court of Justice (CJEU), may help the Russian company in its long-running fight…

16 Sep 2021

Oil Holds Above $75 on Big U.S. Inventories Drop With Gulf Output Still Recovering from Ida

Credit: Victor Moussa/AdobeStock

Oil held above $75 a barrel on Thursday, within sight of a multi-week high hit a day earlier, supported by a big drop in U.S. crude inventories and surging European natural gas prices.U.S. crude inventories fell by 6.4 million barrels last week, more than the 3.5 million-barrel drop analysts expected, with offshore oil facilities still recovering from the impact of Hurricane Ida last month.Brent crude was down 15 cents, or 0.2%, at $75.31 a barrel by 1128 GMT. On Wednesday, Brent touched $76.13, its highest since July 30. U.S.

15 Sep 2021

Maryland Cove Point LNG Export Plant to Start Work Next Week

(Acroterion / CC BY-SA 3.0)

Berkshire Hathaway Energy's Cove Point liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant in Maryland will shut for about three weeks of maintenance starting around Sept. 20, according to pipeline data and analysts.Officials at Berkshire Hathaway Energy on Wednesday confirmed the pipeline and compressor station maintenance will start on Sept. 20 but would not confirm the shutdown of the liquefaction plant until about the day before an outage.Traders noted the reduction in gas flows to LNG export plants should weigh on U.S.

19 Aug 2021

Nord Stream 2 Gas Pipeline to Be Completed Next Week

The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline construction is 99% complete, the operating company said on Wednesday, after a media report the Russian-led project, which has come under criticism from the United States, is expected to be finished on Aug.

13 Jan 2021

Asian Gas Prices, LNG Shipping Costs Soar on Freezing Temperatures

An LNG Tanker-Illustration by alexlmx/AdobeStock

Freezing temperatures across Asia and Europe are driving liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices to record highs and pushing up the cost of shipping the fuel globally as buyers grapple with tight inventories and a shortage of tankers.Demand for super-cooled natural gas has surged in recent years as buyers, particularly China and India, move away from dirtier coal-polluting power plants. Prices had remained relatively low until late 2019, when unexpected cold weather and bottlenecked shipments caused prices to surge.Spot Asian LNG prices are up more than 1…

07 May 2020

Virus Lockdowns Pummel Global Gas Demand, Force LNG Output Cuts

Lockdowns to slow the coronavirus pandemic are pummelling gas demand in the world's biggest buyers of liquefied natural gas (LNG), pushing Asia's spot prices to record lows and forcing some suppliers to start cutting output. Economies worldwide have ground to a halt as virus containment measures have taken their toll, slashing gas demand for power generation, heating, cooking, vehicles and chemical manufacture. The world's biggest LNG markets - Japan, China, South Korea, and India - are all seeing a drop in demand. Asia's spot LNG prices dropped to $1.85 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) last week, the lowest ever, as cargoes have flooded the market. "At prices in the $2/mmBtu range ... some producers are getting close to not recovering cash costs of their operations.

30 Apr 2020

LNG Carriers Build Up Around Virus-hit Europe

© Maciej Bledowski / Adobe Stock

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes are piling up off the shores of Europe as the coronavirus pandemic severely disrupts gas demand, leading to delays in tanker discharges and a rise in the number of vessels used as floating storage, analysts said.Lockdowns due to the virus have led to a slump in industrial gas consumption worldwide, reducing demand for LNG and causing cargo deferrals, delays and cancellations, initially reflected by a build up of floating cargoes in the Far East and India.Despite some vessels managing to unload as lockdowns ease…

08 Dec 2019

Offshore: OSV Market Report

Photo courtesy Ulstein Group/Marius Beck Dahle

The environment in oil patches onshore and offshore alike has been challenging throughout 2019; worries about an economic slowdown – whether cyclical or induced by a trade war – have weighed heavily on oil prices, even in the face of reduced production by the big producers. Though storm clouds persist, there appears a clearing on the horizon.The fate of Offshore Service Vessels (OSVs) is, naturally, closely tied to the price of oil. Seacor Marine’s John Gellert, in reviewing its Q2 results, said: “Activity levels in the U.S.