HPCL opens LNG supply hunt
India’s Hindustan Petroleum Corp is calling on LNG producers and traders to register interest in supplying spot cargoes and term deliveries. The state-run refiner is understood to look for 1mtpa of LNG under contracts stretching 10-15 years.
Persian Gulf LNG exports slump after attack on Qatari cargo
Laden LNG transits through the Strait of Hormuz have dropped sharply, down from roughly 0.8 cargoes per day in late June to just 0.2 cargoes per day by July 15, as shipowners grow increasingly cautious after the attack on QatarEnergy LNG carrier Al Rekayyat. Only one LNG cargo is known to have transited the Strait of Hormuz in the past week, according to S&P Global Energy’s vessel-tracking data, while a growing number of LNG stored aboard tankers waiting inside the Persian Gulf for safer passage.
Al Fat'h at Yangpu: Bonded, not (yet) imported
One US LNG cargo reached China on 16 July, the first in seventeen months, but it may never be imported. Our tracking shows the Al Fat'h diverted from Huizhou, an ordinary customs berth, to bonded Yangpu, where a cargo can wait, clear customs, or leave again with duty never falling due. Which of those happens is not yet knowable, and Beijing's tariff on US LNG still stands.
US LNG export growth in H1-2026 came from three plants
Plaquemines, Corpus Christi and Golden Pass drove a sharp rise in US LNG exports, which increased 18.1% year on year to 61.11 MMt in the first half of 2026 on a sailed-date basis.
Greece warns EU ban on Russian LNG cedes market share to rivals
Greece has warned EU sanctions against the transhipment of Russian LNG to third countries could surrender market share to non-European rivals, as EU envoys postponed talks on the bloc’s 21st sanctions against Russia to July 23.
First US LNG cargo discharges in southern China
China has received its first US LNG cargo in nearly 1.5 years, with the Al Fat’h carrier – loaded at Plaquemines in early June – berthing and discharging at Yangpu LNG terminal in Hainan, southern China. Al Fat'h's charterer is reportedly QatarEnergy LNG, which has a 3 mtpa supply obligation with PetroChina.
Pakistan issues tender to buy fifth cargo for July delivery
State-owned Pakistan LNG Ltd has issued a spot tender seeking a (LNG) cargo for delivery in late July, as Islamabad takes precautions for a longer disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz from its main supplier, Qatar. In addition, Pakistan prepares to buy up to six LNG cargoes in August.
Fayard shipyard urged to stop servicing Russia’s Arc7 LNG tankers
Danish shipyard Fayard and CEO Thomas Andersen has been urged to halt all repair and maintenance work on Russia’s ice-class Arc7 LNG carriers, as servicing carried out in 2026 risks extending the vessels’ operational lifespan beyond the EU’s sanctions deadline.
Total expects higher Q2 profit, except for LNG
French oil major TotalEnergies expects all its division to post higher second quarter profits, except LNG, where earnings will fall sharply, with the company blaming “an underperformance in gas trading in a broadly flat to declining European [gas] market.” JP Morgan analysts noted TotalEnergies’ rivals in the UK fared better on LNG trading, indicating Total management might decide to increase its share buyback to $2 billion, from the earlier announced $1.5 billion.
Marmara LNG capacity rises 63%
Turkey has started expanding its Marmara Ereğlisi LNG import terminal with construction of a fourth storage tank, state operator BOTAŞ said. The new 160,000-cubic-meter tank will lift total LNG storage capacity to 415,000 cubic meters from 255,000 cubic meters. Works began on July 7, with addition of the fourth storage tank set to increase the terminal’s total capacity by about 63%, once in operation around 2029.
