LNG

The popularity of the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) price for European natural gas and LNG values in the week that saw the price hit a 2021 high of $10.22 per million British thermal units has also led the Intercontinental Exchange to extend the forward curve for TTF futures to December 2031.

About 130 cargo loadings have been cancelled at US LNG export plants since April 2020, including 40 liftings that would have been scheduled for July and the same number for August.

June 4 (LNGJ) - Two Qatari Q-Flex carriers with 210,000 cubic metres capacity are scheduled to deliver shipments to the UK South Hook terminal at Milford Haven in the next week. The vessel “Al Saad” will discharge its cargo on June 8 and the carrier “Al Nuaman” will berth on June 10.

The cargoes are headed for the UK as the nation’s National Balancing Point natural gas price begins to rise from record lows. It was last at the equivalent of $1.55 per million British thermal units. The Continental European benchmark gas price, the Dutch Title Transfer Facility, was higher at the equivalent of $1.75 per MMBtu.

The Intercontinental Exchange, the US-based operator of trading in commodity and financial markets, said ICE’s North American gas complex and natural gas futures hit an open-interest record of 18.5 million contracts during this current second quarter of 2020 as trading in European and Asian LNG derivatives also jumped.

“In ICE’s North American gas complex, dynamic US shale production has stimulated activity,” said the Atlanta, Georgia-based company.

“With futures open interest at record levels, up 30 percent year-over-year, market share has increased as commercial traders return to Henry Hub-related hedging in response to increased volatility in the North American market,” ICE explained.

These derivatives are purchased and sold by parties such as traders, oil and gas companies and utilities as hedges against rises and falls in physical resource prices.

At the same time as new highs are recorded in North America, ICE said the globalization of natural gas is propelling the growth of the ICE Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) indicators for LNG shipped to Europe and the Japan-Korea Marker (Platts) for Asian spot LNG cargo futures.

ICE owns 12 regulated exchanges and platforms and its best-known subsidiary is the New York Stock Exchange.

The platform operator stated that the Continental European TTF and the Asian JKM are now “benchmarks relied on by commercial participants” around the world.

“As uncertainty has been rising in both supply and demand dynamics across the world, these traders are increasingly utilizing the breadth and depth of liquidity in ICE’s natural gas and oil benchmarks to help manage risk and optimize their natural gas portfolios,” ICE stated.

As a result, ICE said that open interest in TTF futures and options has increased by more than 70 percent year-over-year, while JKM futures and options open interest has more than doubled year-on-year.

In May 2020, the JKM hit record open interest of more than 100,000 contracts.

“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 utility as a risk management tool for customers to hedge their natural gas price risk,” ICE explained.

“This is leading TTF to become increasingly internationalized, while at the same time, the record growth in the use of JKM futures reflects its increasing prominence as Asia’s natural gas benchmark,” added the markets operator.

“We are witnessing TTF evolve into the global benchmark for natural gas, similar to the critical role Brent plays in pricing global oil markets,” said Ben Jackson, President of ICE.

“The momentum behind ICE’s gas benchmarks is attracting more and more participants who are using these benchmarks to manage their exposure to risk at this volatile time,” added Jackson.

ICE’s 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.

“Open interest in ICE’s US Basis contracts, which are used to manage exposure to natural gas at different delivery points throughout North America, set a series of records during April and May, and hit a new high of more than 10.1 million contracts on May 1, 2020,” said the company.

“ICE offers 60 different basis locations to trade, enabling customers to mitigate their risk at locations across North America,” it added.

Oil prices increased more than 3 percent on expectations the leading crude-producing nations would agree to cut output as the coronavirus continues to depress demand while natural gas and LNG prices remained flat, weighed down by excess supplies.

March 2 (LNGJ) – Two LNG cargoes from Trinidad are heading for the UK port of Milford Haven. The 174,000 cubic metres capacity “Gaslog Glasgow” will unload a shipments at Milford Haven’s Dragon import facility on March 4 from the Point Fortin export plant in Trinidad. The 140,500 cubic metres capacity “Hispania Spirit” is scheduled to arrive with a second Trinidad cargo on March 5, according to the port authorities.

   The Trinidad shipments are heading for the UK with the National Balancing Point natural gas price at around $2.80 per million British thermal units and the main price on Continental Europe, the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF), was at the equivalent of $2.90 per MMBtu.

Feb 4 (LNGJ) - Cargoes continue to head for the UK as record low prices prevail. The next February cargo to unload at the UK South Hook LNG import terminal at Milford Haven in Wales will arrive on February 6 on board the Qatari Q-Flex carrier “Al Nuaman” with 210,000 cubic metres of capacity. A second shipment is scheduled to arrive on February 7 from the US on the 145,700 cubic metres capacity “Stena Blue Sky” and will be unloaded at the Dragon terminal in Milford Haven.

   Cargoes are heading for the UK and other European destinations even as record seasonally low prices prevail because of excess supplies. The UK National Balancing Point price was last at around $3.00 per million British thermal units and the main price on Continental Europe, the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF), was at the equivalent of $2.95 per MMBtu.

Jan 22 (LNGJ) - The 161,870 cubic metres capacity carrier “Maran Gas Apollonia” will become the latest carrier to discharge an LNG cargo at a UK terminal when it unloads a shipment on January 28 at the South Hook facility in Milford Haven. The cargo comes from the Cheniere Energy-owned Sabine Pass plant in Louisiana. The cargoes are arriving amid continued low winter season prices. The UK National Balancing Point price was last at around $3.65 per million British thermal units and the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) price was at the equivalent of $3.50 per MMBtu.