LNG

Glenfarne, lead developer of the Alaska LNG project, claims that liquefying Alaska’s North Slope gas and shipping it to Asia would be at least 65% cheaper than shipping LNG from the US Gulf Coast. Brushing aside criticism over the project’s high cost, Glenfarne insisted the Alaska LNG project itself entails some $1.4 billion per mtpa in delivery costs. The project is currently making the headlines over potential South Korean investment.

Venture Global has filed with the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), seeking authorization to place its Phase 1 Plaquemines LNG export terminal into service, the final regulatory hurdle before commercial start-up. If approved, Venture Global could meet its targeted Q4-2026 commercial operation date.

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.

The arbitrage for U.S. LNG cargoes is now favouring deliveries to Europe over northeast Asia, according to Spark Commodities, as shipping costs and regional price spreads render Atlantic-to-Pacific deliveries uneconomic for the remainder of 2026.

Shell – and its partners PETRONAS, PetroChina, Mitsubishi and KOGAS – have taken a final investment decision (FID) on the second phase of LNG Canada, approving a C$33 billion expansion that will double the British Columbia export terminal’s production capacity to 28 mtpa. The project will add two liquefaction trains at the Kitimat facility, raising total capacity from 14 mtpa, with commercial operations expected to begin in the early 2030s.

British gas company Centrica has tentatively agreed to buy 1 mtpa of LNG from Canada’s Ksi Lisims LNG export project, strengthening the developer’s progress toward securing firm offtake and taking a final investment decision. The non-binding Heads of Agreement (HoA) is for 20 years of supply on a free-on-board (FOB) basis.

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 accord clears the way for development of the Aphrodite field, with first production now expected in the second quarter of 2027.

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.

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China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) has urged state LNG buyers – CNOOC, CNPC, Sinopec and PetroChina – to stop LNG resales through the remainder of 2026 and into early 2027, as Beijing seeks to strengthen domestic gas availability during the winter heating season.