LNG

The Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (Jogmec), a Japanese government agency, has released the results of two annual surveys on the volumes of LNG handled by Japanese companies and the current status of the destination restrictions in LNG sales and purchase agreements.

Japan’s most powerful government department, the Ministry of the Economy, Trade and Industry, is considering a new liquefied natural gas stable supply framework after recent winter price spikes and demand surges for power generation led to drops in satisfactory levels of LNG available in storage.

Japanese contracted spot LNG cargo prices for May fell to a record low of $2.20 per million British thermal compared with $5.40 per MMBtu in May 2019 amid the current over-supply and the commercial effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Japanese spot LNG contract-based prices for March 2020 averaged $3.40 per million British thermal units, unchanged from the previous month, though $3.00 per MMBtu lower than in March 2019 amid an over-supplied market and the commercial effects of the coronavirus.

Japanese liquefied natural gas imports have gone into reverse as shipments dropped for a fifth straight month amid competition from thermal coal and nuclear and with Australian and spot cargoes replacing deliveries from the Middle East and Asia.

Cargoes delivered to Japan in March 2019 amounted to 7.29 million tonnes compared with 7.93MT in February 2018, a fall of 8.1 percent versus March 2018.

Japan’s February deliveries had plunged by 11.4 percent and the last time Japanese imports rose was in October 2018 when 6.53MT was received, a 6.5 rise on the previous October. Even during the peak winter months from November 2018 through January 2019, imports dropped

Nine of Japan's nuclear power plants, which numbered 54 on line before the Fukushima disaster in 2011, have re-started to reduce LNG needs.

Thermal coal imports were preferred over LNG in March as 9.58MT was imported, an increase on February, though down 3 percent on March 2018.

The cost of the March 2019 cargoes came to 445.29 billion yen ($3.97Bln), a rise of 7.5 percent from the 414.35Bln yen ($3.70Bln) the cargoes cost in the same month a year ago.

For balance of payments purposes, Japan has been trying for a number of years to bring LNG import costs under control.

The Ministry of Finance data for March showed that Asian LNG shipments from nations such as Malaysia and Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Brunei dropped 20.7 percent year-on-year to 1.73MT.

Imports from the Middle East region fell 26.7 percent versus 2018, with shipments from countries like Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman totalling 1.32MT in March.

US shipments amounted to 198,000 tonnes, down on the 335,000 tonnes received in February. 

Monthly Russian shipments from the Sakhalin Island plant in the Far East dropped 19.8 percent in March to 524,000 tonnes.

The balance of imports from Australia, African nations and the spot market amounted to 3.51MT, a jump of 24 percent compared with the 2.83MT received in February 2019. The volume of cargoes was also up 11.6 percent year-on-year versus the 3.14MT logged in March 2018.

Japanese LNG imports had declined by 0.9 percent in 2018. The 2018 imports amounted to 82.85MT versus 83.63MT received in 2017.

Japan’s 2018 import bill was 20.8 percent higher than in 2017 at 4,730Bln yen ($43.14Bln). The Japanese had paid 19.3 percent more in 2017 with an LNG bill of 3,915Bln yen ($35.58Bln).

Japanese spot LNG delivered cargo prices were at an average of $10.60 per million British thermal units in December, a rise of $2.50 per MMBtu compared with the price the previous year of $8.10 per MMBtu, though lower than the November 2018 price.

The seventh LNG Producer-Consumer Conference held in the Japanese city of Nagoya heard Qatar outline the positive benefits for the global trade of the production expansion planned by Qatar and of a new wave of export ventures in North America and in nations such as Mozambique.

The average price paid by Japanese buyers of spot LNG cargoes contracted in May was $8.20 per million British thermal units compared with $5.70 per MMBtu in the same month of 2017, though was lower than the previous month.

The US and Japanese governments said they planned to offer financing and technical assistance to countries within the Indian subcontinent and southeast Asia as part of the promotion of US liquefied natural gas exports to the region.

Japanese spot LNG cargoes that arrived in Japan in February cost an average of $10.90 per MMBtu compared with $8.80 per MMBtu a year before, a rise of around 24 percent and along with long-term contract deliveries will be adding to Japan’s energy import costs as oil and gas prices recover.