LNG

Singapore’s state-backed gas buyer GasCo is stepping in to secure additional LNG cargoes as several Qatari shipments were disrupted by the regional conflict. Natural gas is Singapore’s main source of electricity, with about 60% of supply imported via seaborne LNG.

Pakistan and Qatar are in advanced talks to get at least four LNG cargoes routed through the Strait of Hormuz, as Pakistan faces an acute LNG crunch of about 400 million cubic feet per day (mmcf/d). That supply gap already caused electricity shortages and load-shedding.

Start-up delays appear to have prompted ExxonMobil to withdraw an offer to sell two initial LNG cargoes from Golden Pass on the spot market. The terminal has reached only about one-third of its liquefaction capacity since production began in late March, according to LSEG data.

US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has waived the mandatory pre-filing requirement for a third phase of Venture Global’s CP2 LNG expansion, signalling regulator’s openness to streamlining brownfield LNG build-outs. CP2 LNG Phase 3 is designed to boost peak liquefaction capacity from 28 mtpa to 35 mtpa.

Five US LNG projects are set to start operations and ramp up productions by the end of 2027, adding nearly 30% to the country’s current peak export capacity of 18.3 bcf/d and helping offset 10 Bcf/d of damaged Qatari export capacity, according to US government analysts.

Pakistan is running furnace oil-fired power plants at full capacity and has delayed nuclear‑plant maintenance after LNG supply disruptions slashed gas‑fired generation to roughly 500 MW, down from 6000 MW installed capacity.

Australia’s second-largest oil and gas producer, Santos, has underscored the “strategic advantage” of LNG from Down Under as the fallout from Hormuz shipping disruptions could last for years. Santos – and its rival Woodside – are both stepping up “safe” LNG supplies to Asian offtakers.

Europe is hard pressed to start importing LNG as storage levels are below 30% as of mid-April. The EU27 would need an optimal LNG supply equivalent to 86 bcm for six months, the European Network Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG) said in its summer 2026 outlook.

China has been reselling record volumes of LNG to other Asian buyers since the start of the Middle East war, diverting up to 10 cargoes in March alone – mainly to South Korea, Thailand and Japan. More re-exports are on the cards in April.

Bangladesh’s Petrobangla and several Indian buyers are tendering for spot LNG, puling more than 11 cargoes away from Europe towards Asia by early April. Further diversions are likely since Indian companies awarded only 4 out of 15 spot LNG tenders for April and May so far, according to Platts data.