The shipping of the first cargo from the US Sabine Pass LNG export terminal in Louisiana has been delayed because of technical problems during commissioning, though the nation is still on course to be a net exporter of natural gas by mid-2017.
The US$54-billion Gorgon liquefied natural gas project on Barrow Island offshore Western Australia is advancing towards shipping its first cargo around February 2016 after the delivery of a shipment of LNG to cool-down equipment at the liquefaction plant to enable production.
PetroBangla, the state energy company of Bangladesh, is seeking expressions of interest from international and regional companies to set up two more liquefied natural gas import terminals.
Cheniere Energy said it had delayed the shipping of its first cargo from the US Sabine Pass LNG export terminal in Louisiana until late February or early March because of technical problems during commissioning.
Qatargas, the largest liquefied natural gas production company, said it carried out a record of just short of 700 carrier loadings in 2015 at its cargo and storage terminal at Ras Laffan industrial port.
Liquefied natural gas import prices for Japan can be expected to remain low until the middle of 2016, according to the latest Japanese perspective on the international energy landscape and the oil price plunge.
A former Canadian gold and silver mining town on the northern Pacific Coast of British Columbia may become the location of a liquefied natural gas project after regulators awarded an export licence to a company with Chinese investors.
Many liquefied natural gas LNG players have shifted their focus to developing markets employing new regasification capacity and despite weakened demand and the impact of the oil price crash, LNG production remained high to reach 250 million tonnes last year.
US government forecasters estimate that North Sea Brent crude oil prices, the key influence on liquefied natural gas values, will average $40 a barrel in 2016 and $50 a barrel in 2017, even as the price reached its lowest level in almost 12 years and as some analysts predicted crude at $20 a barrel.
The Japanese government said the average price of spot liquefied natural gas cargoes imported into Japan last month was $7.50 per million British thermal units compared with $15.10 per MMBtu in the year-ago period, a fall of $7.60 per MMBtu or 49.6 percent.