Japanese Minister Yasutoshi pledges to help Saudi Arabia stabilise oil price and sees Japan LNG deal in Oman
Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Minister (METI) Nishimura Yasutoshi said during a tour of the Middle East that Japanese trading houses would soon sign an LNG supply agreement with the Sultanate of Oman on the Arabian Peninsula.
Shell starts developing new coal-seam gas wells in Queensland to maintain LNG output at export plant
Shell is moving ahead with the development of 145 new onshore coal-seam gas wells to maintain the necessary production levels at the Queensland Curtis LNG export plant on Curtis Island near the port of Gladstone.
Demand for LNG supports continued firm prices as European and Asian buyers are offered fewer cargoes
Liquefied natural gas cargo liftings are decreasing this week while North Asian spot cargo prices and benchmark European values were still strong after the Dutch Title Transfer Facility price reached a 2021 high and North Sea Brent crude was at levels not seen for two years.
Shell reports profits jump amid much lower LNG sales volumes and says market prospects still uncertain
Royal Dutch Shell reported a jump in first-quarter profits even as LNG sales volumes fell almost 17 percent and earnings from the Integrated Gas division slumped from a year ago.
Japan to remain prominent nation in LNG market with very active diversification strategy for imports
LNG imports and gas-fired power will continue to be critical parts of the energy profile of Japan with LNG representing the third-largest energy source in total primary imports after oil and coal, according to a report just published by the Paris-based International Energy Agency.
Australia's Santos signs long-term JKM-priced deal with Mitsubishi for LNG from Barossa project
Australian LNG plant operator Santos has signed a binding long-term LNG supply and purchase agreement (SPA) for the Barossa gas project with Mitsubishi Corp., the prominent Japanese sector player with stakes in the US Cameron LNG plant in Louisiana and LNG Canada in British Columbia.
Russia-China gas pipeline has lower than expected first-year deliveries equivalent to 2.8MT of LNG
Russian natural gas giant Gazprom marked the first anniversary of the coming on stream of the first gas pipeline from Russia to China, regarded as competition for LNG, but details released of current pipeline operations and capacities show less than expected year-one deliveries.
Woodside and BHP progress on Scarborough gas licences with LNG investment decision set for 2021
Woodside Petroleum, the Australian LNG plant operator and international commodities company BHP, are advancing with their Scarborough gas field project to underpin the Burrup Gas Hub planned for Western Australia.
China National Offshore Oil Corp. gas output and sales rise amid domestic LNG market change
China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC), a large holder of Chinese LNG import capacity, raised its year-to-date domestic natural gas production to 311.3 billion cubic feet from 250.6 Bcf in the same nine-month period last year as the nation overhauls the ownership structure of its terminals and pipeline system, offering third-party access.
LNG traders and others create Dutch TTF and Henry Hub surge to records on Intercontinental Exchange
Intercontinental Exchange, the leading operator of global exchanges and clearing houses and futures such as the US Gulf Coast LNG derivative, reported September and third-quarter 2020 trading volumes with records set in energy products, including the continental European natural gas benchmark, the Dutch Title Transfer Facility.
A record number of Open Interest European Gas futures were traded with 2.3 million lots reached on September 29, 2020, including a record Dutch TTF futures Open Interest of 1.7M lots.
Open Interest is the total number of outstanding derivative contracts, such as options or futures that have not been settled for an asset.
The Dutch TTF, which has replaced the UK National Balancing Point price as the European Union benchmark, saw a 55 percent surge in lots year-on-year.
Average daily volumes in the third quarter for the Dutch TTF were up 17 percent.
Analysts said the momentum behind the ICE TTF contract is driven by Europe’s unique role as the global balancing market for LNG which is cementing its usefulness as a risk management tool for customers to hedge their natural gas price risk.
“For two decades now, our core focus at ICE has been giving actionable information to our customers, connecting them to highly liquid digital markets, delivering efficiencies and a reliable, resilient settlement process,” said Ben Jackson, President of Atlanta, Georgia-based company ICE.
ICE owns 12 regulated exchanges and platforms. Its global natural gas complex spans trading hubs from the US and Canada to Europe and Asia, underpinned by an offering of more than 600 financially and physically-delivered contracts.
“As our customers continue navigating a challenging year, we’re working closely with them to ensure they have the tools they need to access prices, execute trading strategies and efficiently manage their risk,” added Jackson.
ICE said September and third-quarter highlights centred on the Open Interest energy sector with a 10 percent surge in transactions year-on-year.
Other quarterly highlights included the North American natural gas Open Interest, up 18 percent compared with the same three months of 2019.
The US benchmark Henry Hub Open Interest was up 36 percent year-on-year and average daily volumes increased 21 percent for the quarter.
In petroleum products, the average daily volumes for RBOB gasoline were up 261 percent in the quarter and heating oil increased 51 percent in Open Interest and average daily volumes jumped 184 percent.
The Emissions-Environmentals Open Interest market was more muted with Open Interest up 6 percent and average daily volumes rising by 7 percent.
