LNG

The European Commission said it was again pursuing plans to end Russian liquefied natural gas supplies being sold in the European Union and has asked the 27 member states not to sign any new supply contracts.

July 26 (LNGJ) - Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said the Government and the Sakhalin Region of the Russian Far East were examining plans to supply liquified natural gas to the Kuril Islands. There is still a dispute between Russia and Japan over the status of the Kuril Islands, located between the Japanese island of Hokkaido at the southern end and the Russian Kamchatka Peninsula in the north. The volcanic archipelago comprises 56 islands taken over by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II and have since been considered as part of Russia.

   Mishustin said that Russia was considering supplying regasification and some power infrastructure to the Kurils to run on small-scale LNG shipments from Gazprom’s Sakhalin Energy LNG plant, which also supplies Japanese utilities. “LNG is probably the best option given the current global green energy requirements. This would be an excellent solution,” said the Russian PM in a statement.

European major Total said its LNG sales increased by 22 percent in the second quarter compared with last year, notably due to an increase in trading activities, while the group posted an overall net loss of more than $8 billion because of assets impairments caused by the oil slump and Covid-19.

Novatek, the Russian natural gas company and operator of the Yamal LNG export plant in northern Siberia, reported preliminary operating data for the year, including global LNG sales of 9.47 million tonnes.

Trafigura Group, the global commodities market participant, said the global LNG market continued to grow rapidly in size and complexity in 2019, driven by abundant new flows from the US and Russia, the development of a more liquid spot market in the Far East and sustained low natural gas prices.