LNG

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has said it received a report late on Wednesday that an LNG tanker has been struck in the Strait of Hormuz by an unknown projectile. Authorities are investigating. Vessels are advised to transit with caution.

Oil and gas prices have risen sharply after details emerged on drone attacks damaging Saudi Arabia’s East-West crude pipeline, which transports oil from the kingdom’s eastern fields to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. The pipeline recently carried around 4 million barrels per day, and had to shut down following the incident.

UK NBP front-month November gas rose more than 5% to 208.36 pence per therm on the news, while Brent crude climbed above $108 a barrel.

Laden LNG transits through the Strait of Hormuz have dropped sharply, down from roughly 0.8 cargoes per day in late June to just 0.2 cargoes per day by July 15, as shipowners grow increasingly cautious after the attack on QatarEnergy LNG carrier Al Rekayyat. Only one LNG cargo is known to have transited the Strait of Hormuz in the past week, according to S&P Global Energy’s vessel-tracking data, while a growing number of LNG stored aboard tankers waiting inside the Persian Gulf for safer passage.

Five crude oil and LNG tankers have turned back from attempts to transit the Strait of Hormuz after Iranian attacks on commercial shipping in the area. As tit-for-tat attacks between the US and Iran continue, maritime authorities raised the risk of transiting Hormuz to “severe.”

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.