LNG

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that war-driven oil and LNG prices will keep global headline inflation high in 2027, adding to pressure on households, industry and public finances in energy import-dependent economies.

European households and industries face at least another year of high gas prices as inventories sit nearly 15% below normal filling levels for October, leaving the EU dependent on scarce LNG cargoes and facing a costly refill campaign next summer.

EU member states may need to reduce their natural gas and LNG consumption by up 7% this winter to brace against the risk of gas shortages. Storage could provide 7.3 billion cubic metres less gas this winter (November to March) than last, according to IEEFA projections. Together with the EU’s full ban on imports of Russian LNG from January 2027, this shortfall could require the bloc to cut winter gas demand by 7%, or 14 bcm, compared with last winter.

Rising LNG prices risk destroying demand as markets are extremely tight, with EU gas storage at multi-year lows. If spot prices rise further this winter, they could erode long-term demand and trigger a 'bloodbath' in global market, Petronas CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik warns.

Baker Hughes has teamed up with Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA, engineering firm Lindsayca and LNG developer Fulcrum LNG to revitalise and expand the country’s natural gas infrastructure and set up a pathway to LNG exports.

US dry natural gas production set an all-time high in July, led by a record surge in the Permian Basin, as higher global gas and LNG prices spurred additional output to offset constrained Qatari deliveries, according to the Energy Information Administration’s latest Natural Gas Monthly. Gross withdrawals in Texas and New Mexico increased by a combined 1.7 Bcf/d, or 3.2% from June to July, pushing total US gross withdrawals to a record 137 Bcf/d and lifting both marketed and dry production to new peaks. EIA analysts expect production will keep rising since flexible US LNG exports fill much of the gap left by constrained Qatari deliveries as long as shipping constraints through the Strait of Hormuz persist.

French major TotalEnergies on Monday confirmed its target to grow oil and gas production by around 3% a year through 2030, predominantly driven by LNG. Projects in Namibia, Nigeria, Libya, Malaysia, Mozambique and Papua New Guinea are meant to support the production plateau, while further growth of 2%-3% a year is planned between 2030 and 2035.

TotalEnergies, SOCAR and Abu Dhabi’s XRG have taken a final investment decision on the full development of Azerbaijan’s offshore Absheron field, securing up to 6 bcm/y of new Caspian gas from 2029. The additional volumes, destined mostly for Turkey via the TANAP pipeline, will help Ankara reduce reliance on spot LNG.

British energy major Shell and Trinidad and Tobago’s National Gas Company (NGC) have agreed commercial terms for gas supplies from Shell’s offshore Aphrodite field, ending a pricing dispute that had stalled the Trinidad LNG export project.

The United States has offered up to $6 billion in potential financing for Argentina LNG, a proposed $51 billion integrated project led by state-controlled YPF to develop Vaca Muerta gas for export. The funding will be supplied under the Andes-Atlantic Corridor launched by the two countries on Wednesday.