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.

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.

SEFE, Germany’s state-owned gas importer, has been instructed to buy and store an additional 8 TWh of natural gas by December 15, as Berlin seeks to strengthen winter supply in the face of tight global LNG markets and persistent supply risk to shipments from the Middle East.

The United States and China have extended a bilateral trade truce – the so-called Busan Agreement – until January 10. The accord reduces the risk of renewed tariff escalation between the world’s two largest economies, but does not include a commitment that China will buy US LNG.

Lithuania’s Ignitis has agreed to buy U.S.-linked LNG from EQT, under a sales and purchase agreement (SPA) covering 10 cargoes delivered each year between 2027 and 2036. The deal marks Ignitis first long-term SPA with a US company and introduces Henry Hub-linked pricing into its procurement portfolio.

Bangladesh has approved in principle a proposal by China National Energy Engineering & Construction Co (CNEE) to build and operate the country's third floating LNG import terminal, despite the Chinese company's regasification fee being substantially higher than those of existing terminals.

Gasunie has warned the Netherlands will not meet its 115 TWh gas storage target for this winter. Storage is currently just 44-45% full, the lowest since 2009, as utilities shy away from buying LNG at current high prices.

Stalled US-Iran negotiations are manifesting LNG price premiums this autumn, with the average price for an October cargo delivered to Northeast Asia forecast at $22.50 per MMBtu. The geopolitical premium is firmly engrained in global LNG markets, fuelling a bullish sentiment in Asia where the price of delivered LNG increased by$0.85/MMBtu week-on-week to nearly$22.10/MMBtu.

High-risk operators of LNG carriers are seen exploiting a shortage of shipowners willing to transit Hormuz. At least four very large gas carriers with a history of carrying Iranian LPG have loaded cargoes in the UAE and Qatar in recent weeks, according to Lloyd’s Lists findings with analysts noting that before the conflicts, it was rare for vessels linked to sanctioned trades to re-enter mainstream markets.