LNG

EU member states spent more than €7.2 billion ($8.4 billion) on Yamal LNG last year – despite a full ban on LNG imports coming into force on January 1, 2027.  “Russia has no adequate alternative to the EU market,” Urgewalt analysts commented, noting more than three-quarters of all Yamal LNG exports currently go to Europe.

China is preparing to list Yuan-denominated LNG futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange as early as February in a bid to bolster pricing power of its state-owned LNG importers CNOOC, CNPC, Sinopec and PetroChina.

Private capital from Asian exploration and production (E&P) investor are flocking to the North American market in search for LNG-linked assets. Deal flow is shaped by a ‘merger of equals’ as consolidation among Canada’s Montney shale producers accelerates, and Asian buyers seek to get their hands on shale and LNG-linked assets in the US.

Santos is ready to ship the first cargo from its $6.1 billion Barossa gas project in the next few days. Currently loaded at Darwin LNG, the cargo will be delivered to the Sakai terminal in Japan.

ADNOC Gas has signed a 10-year LNG sales and purchase agreement with India’s Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) – valued at between $2.5 billion and $3 billion – to export 0.5 mtpa of LNG from ADNOC’s Das Island terminal.

The European Union could source 75-80% of its LNG imports from the US, up from currently 57%, if the bloc honours all its offtake agreements and its gas demand reduction efforts falter. Analysts warn of an overreliance on US LNG, deemed “the most expensive LNG for EU buyers.”

Prices for fossil fuels and clean energy technologies are falling as overcapacity builds. “Oil prices have already come under pressure (…) and the same will soon be true in natural gas markets, as the wave of new LNG export projects start operations,” said Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA).

A rebound in coal-burn is limiting China's power sector pull for LNG imports to 20 million tons, prompting Kpler analysts to revise down earlier projections of 35 Mt. Weather risk poses upside risk to coal-burn, with hotter summer forecast to add 50 Terawatt-hours (TWh) to China’s electricity demand.

A new wave of global LNG supply, particularly from the U.S. and Qatar, could reduce energy costs for European industry by up to €39 billion annually by 2032, with cumulative savings of around €180 billion, Wood Mackenzie forecasts.

Mitsubishi has disclosed it will buy Aethon Energy's assets in the Haynesville Shale – a move that positions the Japanese company to capitalise on burgeoning LNG exports from the US Gulf Coast. The transaction includes $5.2 billion in equity and $2.33 billion in assumed debt.