LNG

Energy Aspects remains bearish against JKM–TTF Q1 26 spreads amid dwindling freight rates. Some recent fixtures for two-stroke LNG vessels in the Atlantic basin fell below $100,000 per day, opening the arbitrage for US LNG heading to markets east of Suez via the Cape of Good Hope.

US midstream company Energy Transfer is targeting financial close on its 16.5 mtpa Lake Charles LNG project in early 2026, having secured sufficient offtake commitments to underpin project finance.

Not a single US LNG cargo transited the Panama Canal during the first three weeks of November, according to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data, as the arbitrage window prompted most tankers to head to Europe rather than Asia.

Aktor Group’s joint venture with Greece’s state run gas supplier Depa Commercial has signed a supply deal with Venture Global to import US LNG to Greece for domestic use and re-export to Romania and Ukraine. Initial re-exports are intended to start as early as 2026.

American LNG exports have sustained their record volumes in December — as sellers sought to match or exceed November’s peak of 10.7 mtpa — in a quest to cash in on winter demand peaks and make the most of new US capacity ramping up. Analysts see further upside with US LNG exports potentially reaching more than 10 million tons amid favourable price spreads.

The US Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut has had little effect on oil and LNG prices and related demand as uncertainty about the macro-economic outlook stays high. “For commodity markets, the message is clear: monetary policy is no longer a dominant driver of price direction,” Rystad analysts commented.

Glenfarne has signed a definitive agreement to supply 1 mtpa of LNG to the South Korean trading house POSCO International over 20 years from its planned 20 mtpa Alaska LNG project, the only federally authorized LNG export initiative on the US Pacific Coast.

Swiss commodity trading house Gunvor is in talks to buy US upstream acreage – notably Baytex Energy assets in the Eagle Ford Shale — in a bid to mend relations with the Trump administration, which had fiercely opposed Gunvor’s earlier bid for Lukoil’s foreign assets.

The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved Trans-Foreland Pipeline Co.’s request for more time to convert the dormant Kenai LNG terminal from an export to an import facility, according to a regulatory filing. 

Qatar is progressing to expand its LNG production from 77 to 142 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) in-country. QatarEnergy CEO Saad Al-Kaabi announced the first new mega-train from the North Field LNG expansion programme is expected to come online by the third quarter of 2026 – rivalling US LNG supply.