LNG

The Greek shipowner Dynagas has shipped 35 percent of all Yamal LNG volumes to European ports between January and July 2026, worth an estimated €2.35 billion, after Greece secured an exemption on the EU’s 21st sanction package for qualifying Russian LNG transport.

Glenfarne has warned Alaska’s proposed gasline tax package could still leave the $13.2–16.9 billion pipeline segment of the Alaska LNG project without a viable path to completion, undermining financing just as the project seeks to take FID.

China’s push to electrify heavy-duty trucking is set to materially lift electricity demand, with potential knock-on effects on LNG imports. Around Beijing, electrification rates are expected to reach as high as 80% on certain corridors, accelerating the shift away from diesel and LNG toward grid-based energy.

Venture Global is advancing talks to ship more LNG cargoes from its Plaquemines terminal in Louisiana to Ukraine’s largest private energy company DTEK, as the war-torn country scrambles to secure energy this winter. Delivered gas could cost a premium to spot LNG imports into northern Europe.  

China’s rapid adoption and scale-up of LNG trucks sales is displacing the use of oil and oil products in road transport, lowering diesel demand. Based on the current order book and stringent environmental regulations, the International Energy Agency (IEA) expects the number of LNG-fuelled ships to almost double and reach over 1200 vessels by 2028.

The latest National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) measures for gas utilisation  from June 2024 categorises heavy-duty vehicles transport as a priority sector for LNG as a fuel, and related policies put forward the promotion of natural gas in transport uses.

“The sale of LNG-powered trucks consequently accelerated in 2023 and 2024 – just as LNG prices eased to competitive levels with diesel. However, as LNG prices again rose above the switching point with diesel during H2 2024, new LNG truck registrations tumbled immediately,” analysts pointed out.

Infrastucture constraints are further stumbling blocks to shift much of China’s road transport onto LNG -fuelled trucks. Local authorities’ decisions on building out LNG refuelling infrastructure hinge on economic considerations around the availability of affordably priced gas. “Given the volatility of LNG diesel price competitiveness,” analysts noted that “continued growth in gas-fuelled transport would require stronger policy support.”

Domestic coal, solar PV outcompete LNG

In the power gen sector, meanwhile, the displacement of oil and oil products is set to continue over the medium term. But even though Chinese utilities convert some of their ageing coal-fired power stations to run on natural gas – it is solar power which outcompetes new gas generation on cost.

Looking China’s overseas investment, renewables for the first time overtook fossil fuel projects in terms of new capacity installed. Overseas power projects, completed under China’s Belt & Road initiative, reached a record 24 GW in 2024 – double the capacity installed in the previous year. Solar PV accounted for 8 GW of these projects while though 48% of completed projects were legacy coal-fired and gas- or oil-fired plants, with 6 GW each.

Falling technology costs for green energy and renewables drive this trend, with much of the change owed to very cost-competitive China-made solar panels. “Chinese companies are leading its deployment in many developing markets that could not previously afford

Still, coal power is still dominating the Chinese power market: A staggering 19 GW of coal power projects remain in the pipeline, although they are subject to potential cancellations due to the global shift away from coal and the government’s 2021-policy announcement of ‘No new overseas coal power’. In addition, 9 GW of gas projects are currently under construction or in the planning stages.

Verso Energy has reserved a site for a new plant to produce hydrogen (H2) and biogenic synthetic fuels at the Port of Oulu, in northern Finland. Similar production sites exist in various parts of France, and Verso's synfuels production process combines green H2 with carbon dixoide (CO2) recovered from nearby paper and pulp mills.

Electricity in Finland is among the cheapest in Europe: In the first half of 2024, the price of electricity for non-household customers in Finland was the lowest in the European Union at just €0.0939  per kilowatt-hour (€/kWh), given that most of it is derived from hydropower plants.

Using this electricity to produce H2 and related biogenic synfuels is becoming a lucrative business, not least because offtaker are situated very close to northern Finland - just a short shipping distance away across the Baltic Sea in Germany, Poland and Denmark, as well as in the Netherlands and the UK.

Cheap electricity, large talent pool

Asked why Verso chose Oulo as a location for its latest hydrogen plant, CEO Antoine Huard said "the region around the Finish port town is attractive because it provides an abundance of affordable renewable energy and biogenic carbon dioxide.”

In addition, experienced chemical researchers at Oulo University alongside large R&D investments in the area, ensure a “sufficient talent pool,” the Verso CEO said, and this offers the French company potential customers and subcontractors.

And last but not least, the Port of Oulu, with its rail and road links, provides good connections to the rest of the world.

H2-derivative projects already set up

Several other hydrogen production and H2 derivative projects have already been initiated in the greater Oulu region: Gasgrid Finland is planning to establish a hydrogen transport infrastructure to connect Oulu’s hydrogen production with the rest of Finland and other countries in northern Europe.

Verso Energy is hence keen to get its project off the ground, though Mr Huard cautioned the latest “land reservation is only a preliminary decision,” – a final investment decision (FID) will be taken at a later stage.

Europe's latest episode of dark and almost wind-still weather – dubbed Dunkelflaute – has once again highlighted the importance of flexible gas generation. Low wind speeds since early November reduced wind power output by 40% yoy, or nearly 15 TWh compared to November 2024, IEA figures show and that shortfall was largely offset by flexible gas power plants ramping up output by 65% yoy, or 13 TWh.