LNG

Japan’s largest LNG buyer JERA is capitalising on the growing need to burn LNG for power generation in Malaysia and Indonesia. According to Izumi Kai, CEO of Singapore-based JERA Asia, dwindling domestic gas production in the region makes it “very difficult” to meet energy needs with renewables and battery storage alone.

French oil major TotalEnergies is determined to restart its Mozambique LNG project “quickly” for a budget of $20.5 billion, CEO Patrick Poyanne clarified, having asked Mozambique’s President for a $4.5 billion cost adjustment. These additional expenses were incurred during the project’s four-year suspension under force majeure, caused by militant attacks in Cabo Delgado province.

Japan’s new Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, has rebuked demands from US President Donald Trump for an outright ban of Russian LNG, saying such a move would be “difficult.” Mitsui and Mitsubishi own stakes in the Sakhalin-2 project and Russian LNG currently cover some 9% of Japan’s total imports.

State-owned Singapore GasCo is in talks with prospective LNG suppliers, targeting operational readiness by January 1, 2026. From that date, the state buyer expected to purchase LNG from a diversified portfolio and supply it to power producer under a new procurement framework.

XRG, the overseas business unit of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is in talks to invest in an LNG export project that Argentina’s YPF is developing. The proposed LNG development, based on gas from the Vaca Muerta shale, seeks to establish Argentina as a regional exporter by the late 2020s.

Donald Trump’s declaration of a ‘new golden age’ in US–Japan relations is shaping a new phase in LNG trade and resource security. Tokyo Gas is in advanced discussions with American LNG suppliers, while JERA locked in several 20-year offtake deals in a bid to ensure prices stability.

Hanwha Ocean is expecting higher profits in 2025 from its LNG carrier newbuilding segment. In its third-quarter results, the South Korean shipbuilder said its “robust orderbook” is supporting earnings growth, though demand for LNG carriers is likely to fall from 2026 onwards amid a “normalisation” in global gas demand.

Excelerate Energy has agreed to deploy Iraq’s first floating LNG import terminal at the port of Khor Al-Zubair, offering regas services for a minimum contracted offtake of 250 million cubic feet per day. Project investment totals $450 million, inclusive the cost of the FSRU and jetty modifications.

Excess capacity and underutilisation make the Philippines hold back on adding new LNG regas terminals through 2030. One new import terminal is in the pre-development stage, but will be shelved, as the two operational terminals with 8.3 mtpa capacity are utilised only 60%.

Orders for LNG vessels have more than halved, with only 38 ships ordered in the first nine months of 2025 – a substantial 56% decline. Investment could pick up from 2026 as more LNG export capacity comes to market and d shipyard capacity expands.