Natural Gas Demand News

A tanker carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) docked at Finland's Inkoo terminal on Sunday and has begun unloading, energy company Gasum said on Monday, the second cargo to arrive since the damage last month to a Finnish-Estonian pipeline.The Arctic Princess, carrying natural gas from the Arctic Hammerfest LNG plant, had been expected to arrive at Inkoo during the weekend, shipping data showed on Friday.The delivery amounted to about 400 gigawatt hours of energy, Gasum said."In addition to this delivery, Gasum has reserved three more slots at the Inkoo FSRU for the upcoming winter season.

U.S. energy regulators on Friday extended until September 2023 the amount of time liquefied natural gas (LNG) developer Delfin LNG has to put the onshore part of its proposed Gulf of Mexico floating export project off Louisiana into service. The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said in its order that Delfin sought the extension in July. Delfin is one of several North American LNG export developers that delayed construction in recent years in part because coronavirus…

U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) developer Delfin LNG has asked federal regulators to extend the amount of time it has to put the onshore part of its proposed Gulf of Mexico floating LNG export project off Louisiana into service until September 2023.The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said on Thursday that Delfin sought the extension on July 15.Delfin is one of several North American LNG export projects that delayed decisions to start construction in recent years…

Early White House efforts to boost U.S. liquefied natural gas exports and cut Europe's reliance on gas from Russia after its invasion of Ukraine are proceeding slowly, because of concerns about climate change impacts, government and industry sources said.The Ukraine crisis has underscored Europe's dependence on Russia, which supplies about 40% of its natural gas used to heat homes and generate electricity, and the Biden administration has promised its allies it will help break…

Singapore LNG Corp is making inquiries about buying LNG cargoes from the spot market, a rare move for the operator of the city-state's liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal, industry sources said on Wednesday.The inquiries come on the back of surging prices globally of power generation fuels such as LNG and coal, amid power shortages from China and India to Europe.SLNG contributes to Singapore's energy security and its terminal supplies up to 30% of the city state's natural gas demand for power generation…

Australia is on track to surpass Qatar as the world’s largest LNG exporter, according to Australia’s Department of Industry, Innovation, and Science (DIIS).Australia already surpasses Qatar in LNG export capacity and exported more LNG than Qatar in November 2018 and April 2019, said a release from U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).Within the next year, as Australia’s newly commissioned projects ramp up and operate at full capacity, EIA expects Australia to consistently export more LNG than Qatar, it said.Australia’s LNG export capacity increased from 2.6 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2011 to more than 11.4 Bcf/d in 2019.

Tokyo Gas Engineering Solutions (TGES) has been awarded a deal by Taiwan's CPC Corporation (CPC) to conduct the front end engineering design (FEED) for an expansion project of its LNG receiving terminal at Yung An.According to a statement, TGES will carry out the FEED work this year. TGES claims gas demand in Taiwan is expected to increase quickly in coming years as gas fired power plants are being encouraged due to environmental concerns.Natural gas demand in Taiwan is expected to grow rapidly in coming years as promotes natural-gas fired power plants due to environmental concerns. Such movements have supported this CPC’s expansion…

European natural gas prices reached their lowest in at least a decade, fueled by a battle for market share between Russia, traditionally the continent's supplier, and the U.S., whose gas exports have gained momentum on the back of the shale boom.European natural gas prices are at a historical low and below the cost of shipping gas from the US to Europe. In May, prices remained just above this floor, fetching around $4.20 per million British thermal units (MMBtu).But this floor seems to be crumbling, if not collapsing, now that the Dutch front month gas price (TTF) has hit a fresh low of $3.20 per MMBtu – the lowest price since the TTF began trading on the Dutch market in March 2010…

Singapore-based LNG company Pavilion Energy said its wholly owned subsidiary Pavilion Energy Trading & Supply has agreed to buy Spanish energy company Iberdrola's portfolio of liquefied natural gas (LNG) assets.The portfolio comprises about 4 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of Iberdrola's long-term LNG sale and supply contracts.It also includes long-term regasification of approximately 2 mtpa at the Grain LNG terminal (UK), regasification access in Spain and the Spanish-France border pipeline capacity, as well as the time-charter of a newbuild MEGI LNG vessel. In a related transaction, both parties have concluded a gas sales agreement…

Despite the liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand in the first quarter of 2019 being negatively impacted by warmer than usual weather in the Northern Hemisphere winter, global LNG imports during the period totalled 88 million tonnes (mt), compared to 79 mt in the first quarter of 2018, or an increase of 11%, GasLog said quoting Poten.In particular, China’s LNG imports totalled 15.3 mt, 24% higher than the first quarter of 2018.Europe’s LNG imports in the first quarter more than doubled to 22 mt, compared to 10 mt in the first quarter of 2018, as lower LNG prices made gas fired power generation more competitive than coal, indigenous gas production declined and LNG gained market share from pipeline imports.

GasLog Partners, which owns, operates, and acquires liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers under multi-year charters, said that the longer-term outlook for natural gas demand continued to strengthen in the first quarter of 2019.Despite LNG demand in the first quarter of 2019 being negatively impacted by warmer than usual weather in the Northern Hemisphere winter, global LNG imports during the period totalled 88 million tonnes (mt), compared to 79 mt in the first quarter of 2018, or 11% growth, according to Poten.In particular, China’s LNG imports totalled 15.3 mt, 24% growth over Q1 2018. Europe’s LNG imports in the first quarter more than doubled to 22 mt…

Azerbaijan is an important supplier of crude oil and natural gas in the Caspian Sea region, particularly to European markets, the US Energy Information Administration said in its report.The EIA’s report notes that Azerbaijan’s exports of natural gas are poised to become a more significant part of the country’s economy.Azerbaijan produced about 600 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of dry natural gas in 2017 and exported about 210 Bcf, according to EIA’s International Energy Statistics.“Azerbaijan is planning to expand its natural gas exports to Europe. European Union leaders consider connecting Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz natural gas field to Southern Europe to be a step toward the strategic goal of diversifying Europe’s natural gas supply.

ADNOC Logistics & Services (ADNOC L&S), a wholly-owned subsidiary of UAE's ADNOC, has signed an agreement with Japan's Inpex Corp to collaborate on LNG bunkering activities.Under the agreement, ADNOC L&S and Inpex will explore opportunities for LNG bunkering in the UAE as well as the potential to jointly expand LNG bunkering activities to cover other regions, including Southeast Asia, said a press release from the Abu Dhabi-based integrated shipping and logistics company.The use of LNG as a fuel on non-LNG carriers is expected to grow significantly as ship owners seek new compliance solutions to meet the 2020 IMO’s global sulfur cap.

The global floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade reached 236 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2018, up by 7.1% from the same period of 2017 on a combination of robust Asian demand and new supplies of LNG from Australia and the USA, said Höegh LNG.The provider of LNG transportation and services said that for the full year, LNG trade is expected to reach around 320 million tonnes, up by more than 7% from 2017.Increasing Chinese demand continues to be a key driver for expanding LNG volumes. LNG imports by China were 37.7 million tonnes during the first nine months of 2018, up 46% from the same period in 2017 and pointing towards full-year imports of more than 55 million tonnes."That makes China the world’s secondlargest importer of LNG…

China has overtaken Japan to become the world's top importer of natural gas, as Beijing's crackdown on pollution boosts its demand for the more environmentally friendly fuel, while the restart of nuclear reactors in Japan reduces its LNG imports.China's total natural gas imports over January to October this year via pipeline and as liquefied natural gas (LNG) were at 72.06 million tonnes, up a third from the same period last year, according to Reuters calculations based on General Administration of Customs data.Japan…

Will a rising tide in the offshore oil markets float all the boats? In the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, that remains to be seen.Offshore services, exploration and production are on a roll. In early October, yet another business combination of big drillers was announced. In a sign of optimism, Ensco announced its plan for an all-stock acquisition of Rowan Offshore, worth around $2.4 billion. The new company will be domiciled in the United Kingdom, but will have a large presence in Houston.

The U.S. energy industry braced for a major test to refineries and power plants as an intense winter storm roared up the Atlantic Coast, bringing heavy snowfall and high winds to a region already beset with several days of extreme cold. The storm is the product of a rapid and rare sharp drop in barometric pressure known as bombogenesis, or bomb cyclone. Heavy snow pounded the East Coast along a front stretching from Maine as far south as North Carolina early on Thursday, knocking out power, icing over roadways and closing hundreds of schools. Prices for heating oil <HO-NYH> <HO-DIFF-NYH> and natural gas in the U.S. Northeast hit their highest levels in years on the back of near-record heating demand. Benchmark U.S. heating oil futures are near the highest in almost three years.

Demand for natural gas in 2017 has grown by close to 9% in Spain, compared to 2016, reaching 351 TWh. It is the third consecutive year of increased gas demand in the country. Industrial demand for natural gas, which accounts for close to 60% of the total demand, has shown a rise of 7%, in line with the positive evolution of the economy. Among the industrial sectors showing the highest growth in their gas consumption are metallurgy and construction. Natural gas demand for power generation has grown by 27%. The figure is influenced by low levels of hydroelectricity generation this year, down by approximately 48% compared to 2016. Consumption of natural gas by homes…

A sure sign that China is struggling with its planned switch to natural gas from coal for winter heating is the spot price of Australian coal climbing back above $100 a tonne. Spot cargoes of thermal coal from Australia's Newcastle port , an Asian benchmark for the fuel used mainly in power plants, rose to $100.65 a tonne on Wednesday, breaching the triple-figure barrier for the first time since Nov. 1 and hitting their highest since mid-September. The price is also 9.2 percent higher than a recent low of $92.20 touched on Nov. 23 as the market responds to signs that Beijing is relaxing its anti-coal stance due to the scarcity of natural gas and the sharply higher prices for the cleaner-burning fuel that is available.

During the quarter and post quarter end, there has been continued momentum in the start-up of new LNG liquefaction capacity with the fourth train at Sabine Pass in the U.S. shipping its first commissioning cargoes in August 2017, said GasLog Partners. Sabine Pass has now shipped approximately 200 cargoes since start up in early 2016. Post quarter end, Chevron's Wheatstone LNG project in Australia started production with the first LNG shipment expected in the coming weeks. Dominion's Cove Point project in the U.S. and Novatek's Yamal LNG project in Russia are both expected to start LNG production by the end of 2017 and ramp up exports into 2018.

Egypt seeking to defer up to 25 LNG cargoes this year-trade; talks with trade houses and producers ongoing. Egypt is holding talks with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) suppliers to defer contracted shipments this year and aims to cut back on purchases in 2018, as surging domestic gas production squeezes out demand for costly foreign imports. Cairo's desire for gas self-sufficiency by the end of 2018 bodes ill for traders having to reshuffle LNG out of the country amid concern over the impact on global gas prices if replacement markets for the world's eighth-biggest importer of the super-cooled fuel are not found fast enough. State-run importer EGAS aims to defer dozens of liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes due this year, analyst, trade and industry sources say.

India, the world’s fourth-largest buyer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), has announced plans to halve its basic customs duty on imports of the chilled fuel. Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presenting the Budget for 2017-18 in Parliament halved the import duty on LNG to 2.5 per cent, a move that will help cut cost of power and fertiliser production. "Considering the wide range of use of LNG as fuel as well as feed stock for petro-chemicals sector, I propose to reduce the basic customs duty on LNG from 5 per cent to 2.5 per cent," he said. The state of Gujarat will be the largest beneficiary of the reduction in the basic custom duty on the LNG.

Thailand is increasing its planned long-term imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to meet rising demand after delays to the construction of coal-fired power plants, a senior official at energy ministry said on Wednesday. Energy policy makers have revised their target of LNG imports to 17.4 million tonnes in 2022 and reaching 34 million tonnes a year by 2036, up from earlier planned 23 million tonnes, Twarath Sutabutr, Director-General of the ministry's Energy Policy and Planning Office, told a news conference. "Natural gas supplies in the Gulf of Thailand will drop in the future. Thailand needs to accelerate LNG imports," Twarath said, adding the plan was subject to final approval from the national energy policy committee next month.