LNG

Japanese shipbuilders are set to draw new investment as Tokyo looks to revive the sector, with industry groups backing a plan for roughly 350 billion yen in capital spending and a broader public-private fund of more than 1 trillion yen to double output by around 2035. The push also includes efforts to modernize yards and revive LNG carrier construction.

Rising renewable capacity and cheaper batteries are weakening the investment case for LNG import terminals and gas-fired generation, with Ember signalling out China as the clearest example of that shift.

Delfin Midstream is close to signing a contract with Samsung Heavy Industries for the supply of the second and third floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) vessels for its Delfin LNG export project in Louisiana.

Russia's largest LNG producer Novatek has reported a sharp 63% drop in net profit, citing lower commodity prices, Western sanctions, and operational disruptions at its Ust-Luga terminal following a Ukrainian drone attack. 2025 net profits fell to 183 billion roubles ($2.37 billion), down from 493 billion roubles in the previous year.

Nhon Trach Unit 4 — one of two units at Vietnam’s first LNG-fired power plant — is scheduled to begin commercial operations on December 20. PetroVietnam invested an estimated $1.4 billion in the twin units, which have a combined capacity of 1,620 MW.

Excelerate has received an award letter from the Iraqi government to develop a floating LNG import terminal. Capital expenditure is sought not to exceed $300 million, officials close to the project indicated.

By 2028, the Middle East envisages to add 60 mtpa of new LNG export capacity and developments will require more than $50 billion in capital spending, Rystad Energy forecasts. Qatar will lead the expansion with 48 mtpa alone through its North Field East and North Field South projects, the UAE will contribute 10 mtpa from the Ruwais LNG project, and TotalEnergies is developing the Marsa LNG project with a capacity of 1 mtpa in Oman.

PetroVietnam Power is preparing to start up the Nhon Trach 3 power plant in the third quarter of 2025, while Nhon Trach 4 is scheduled to start commercial operations by the end of this year. Capital expenditure (CAPEX) for developing the two LNG-fuelled power plants comes to US$ 1.4 billion, financed under a 75:25 debt vs equity ratio.

German energy company Uniper has postponed its target to invest €8 billion in the green energy transformation by 2030, citing a lack of demand for green hydrogen, CEO Michael Lewis told business daily FAZ. “As things stand, there are hardly any major customers who buy green hydrogen,” he said, noting Uniper has to “step on the brakes a little.”

Uniper now wants to reach its targeted investment volume “by the early 2030s” and focus on project “that make the greatest contribution from a strategic and financial perspective.” The Germain utility reiterated its aim to exit coal by 2029, though reaching its target of 80% renewables would become “very difficult,” Lewis conceded.

The British boss of the energy group Uniper urged the German government to introduce a lasting system of incentive for a certain volume of green hydrogen – alike the renewable support system. “There is a large gap between the price of natural gas and that of blue or even green hydrogen,” Lewis said, suggesting; “The state would have to agree to close this gap.”

The German coalition government aspires for hydrogen, especially the one produced via electrolysis from wind and solar power, to play a vital role in decarbonising the steel-making sector or the chemical industry as well as the transport sector. But hurdles for implementing and scaling up the technology are manifold, both from a technological and cost perspective.

The cost for storage and distribution may well make green hydrogen a “prohibitively expensive abatement strategy across many major sectors,” researchers from Harvard University warned. Listening to such warnings, Uniper revised its hydrogen strategy and other energy companies eye similar steps to slow down their exposure to a still expensive new fuel type.

With a shorter pre-FID and construction schedule, lower capital expenditure and flexibility to move it around, barge-type FLNG projects with a capacity 1 to 1.5 mtpa of having some significant advantages over large floating or land-based liquefaction projects, according to Øivin Iversen, CEO of Höegh FLNG.