LNG

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.

Plaquemines, Corpus Christi and Golden Pass drove a sharp rise in US LNG exports, which increased 18.1% year on year to 61.11 MMt in the first half of 2026 on a sailed-date basis.

QatarEnergy, ExxonMobil and Egypt have agreed to assess commercializing Cyprus gas discoveries via Egypt’s existing LNG infrastructure. Supply from the Aphrodite discovery, estimated at 4.5 trillion tcf, will be routed to Egypt’s underutilized liquefaction plants at Idku and Damietta, with 12.2 mtpa capacity combined.

Prospects that Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to Beijing could help reinstate direct US LNG imports to China are gaining traction, with LSEG data indicating that three carriers loaded in Louisiana could reach China within a month.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) and American companies have announced “billions of dollars” of LNG and gas pipeline-related infrastructure investment across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The key objective of Trump’s ‘Peace Pipeline Framework’ and the broader ‘Three Seas’ supply corridor is to facilitate more US LNG imports.

Regional US gas prices in the Southwest and Southern California are trading near zero, even as LNG export demand hits maximum capacity. Domestic gas output exceeds 105 Bcf/d, flooding storage and capping upside, while LNG feedgas demand increased to 20.3 Bcf/d amid soaring US LNG export driven by panic buying.

Five US LNG projects are set to start operations and ramp up productions by the end of 2027, adding nearly 30% to the country’s current peak export capacity of 18.3 bcf/d and helping offset 10 Bcf/d of damaged Qatari export capacity, according to US government analysts.

Securing Energy for Europe (SEFE) and Argentina’s Southern Energy have signed an 8-years sales and purchase agreement (SPA) for 2 mtpa of LNG, with deliveries starting in late 2027. The deal, totalling 16 mtpa over the contract term, marks Argentina’s first long-term LNG export contract.

US LNG exporters are selling cargoes abroad at prices roughly twice the Henry Hub benchmark, allowing export demand to set a higher clearing price in the domestic power market. Data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows the average LNG export sale price was $7.87 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) in 2025 versus $3.66/Mcf for Henry Hub.

ADNOC Gas has announced it will take FID on Phase 2 and 3 of its Rich Gas Development (RGD) project in the first quarter of 2026, linking the move to a planned 30% rise in gas processing capacity by 2029 to underpin rising LNG exports.