LNG

Prospects that Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to Beijing could help reinstate direct US LNG imports to China are gaining traction, with LSEG data indicating that three carriers loaded in Louisiana could reach China within a month.

CPC Corp, Taiwan’s state-run LNG buyer, has redirected spot and short-term tenders to US producers like Cheniere or Venture Global to offset suspended Qatari supplies. Customs data show monthly imports reached 2.07 million tonnes in April, up 4.34% year-on-year, with the upward trend continuing.

India has rejected a cargo of Russian LNG from the US-sanctioned terminal despite domestic supply shortages amid Middle East tensions – effectively stranding a 138,200-cbm tanker near Singapore, according to Reuters and ship-tracking data.

A worsening LNG and fuel supply crunch is hitting Asian economies, pushing up electricity prices, shipping and airfare costs. The United Nations Development Programme estimates that Middle East‑related disruptions could inflicting about $299 billion in economic losses on the Asia‑Pacific region, with around 8.8 million people are at risk of being pushed into poverty.

The Al Kharaitiyat LNG carrier, loaded at Qatar’s Ras Laffan terminal in early May, has left the Strait of Hormuz and is now en route to Pakistan, according to ship tracking data. Analysts reckon more cargoes may be able to get out.

Supermajors are redirecting capital towards LNG and other core oil & gas businesses, while retrenching from energy transition-related investment. Majors with large US LNG positions – notably Shell, BP and TotalEnergies – benefit from wider export margins and rising demand in 2026.

Australian LNG exporters be required to reserve 20% of their gas production for the east coast domestic market under a new policy, effective July 1, 2027. The measure targets three LNG projects – Shell/Arrow Energy's Queensland Curtis LNG, Santos’ Gladstone LNG, and Origin/ConocoPhillips' Australia Pacific LNG.

The Ksi Lisims LNG project in British Columbia is in advanced discussions with additional offtakers as developers target a final investment decision (FID) on the 12 mtpa floating liquefaction facility on Nisga’a Nation land by the end of this year.

The White House is supporting the Alaska LNG tax reform, with a volumetric tax on feedgas flows meant to reduce early-stage fiscal burdens for the long-delayed $44 billion LNG export project. Financial close on Phase 1 is envisaged later this year.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) has moved a second LNG carrier through the Strait of Hormuz, with tankers going off the radar when transiting the critical waterway as security risks persist. The two carriers loaded at Das Island terminal and appear to be heading to Japan and China.

“Apparently, there is a new game in town: empty LNG tankers moving near the Strait of Hormuz, going dark, loading LNG, crossing the Strait again and then reappearing in the middle of the ocean loaded,” commented Anne-Sophie Corbeau, Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) research scholar at Columbia University.

“The Qataris do not seem to be playing this game. Yet,” she noted.

Mraweh, one of ADNOC’s LNG carriers, officially did not transit Hormuz – but it reappeared laden near Indonesia and has now been tracked as heading towards Japan. Sohar, another LNG carrier, crossed the Strait in early April – empty.

Kpler data indicates the ADNOC-linked LNG carrier Mubaraz has transited the Strait on April 27 after a 30-day tracking blackout. This week, Mubaraz re-emerged off southern India – apparently en route to China’s Tianjin regas terminal where it is expected to arrive on May 15.

Though ADNOC has not officially confirmed that the cargo originates from Das Island, ship tracking data identifies it as one of the first loaded LNG crossing Hormuz since hostilities began, disrupting Persian Gulf exports that comprised 20% of global supply in 2025.