LNG

Saipem has invited industry leaders to Trieste to showcase the ‘FlatFish’ autonomous underwater vehicle for detecting CO₂ leakages in offshore environments. The demonstration also highlighted how autonomous robotics, advanced sensing technologies and data acquisition can make carbon capture and underground storage safer and more reliable and more stringent environmental rules forces the shipping industry to decarbonise.

PetroChina International is taking final steps to conduct its first LNG bunkering operation in Singapore, chairman Wu Junli said. The trading arm of PetroChina is one of eight companies that received LNG bunker licenses from the Singapore regulator.

South Korean steelmaker POSCO and shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean have agreed to develop a demonstration LNG carrier fitted with tanks made from high-manganese steel – a material already used in LNG fuel tanks to the much larger cargo-containment market.

Eight companies have entered the race to complete Cyprus’ long-delayed Vasilikos LNG import terminal, as the government seeks to revive a project intended to reduce electricity costs. DEFA aims to shortlist bidders by end-2026 and award the estimated €180 million contract before summer 2027.

Karpowership’s newly converted floating storage and regasification unit LNGT Türkiye is preparing to enter service under the technical management of Singapore-headquartered Synergy Marine Group.

Qatar’s attempt to revive LNG exports through the Strait of Hormuz is becoming as much a shipping and crewing problem as an energy-supply challenge. In the four weeks after the first Qatari LNG carrier crossed the waterway on September 10, about 20 laden tankers exited Hormuz, though transits volumes still are at roughly one-third of pre-war levels.

Taiwan’s state-owned CPC Corp is moving closer to buying 6 million metric tons a year of LNG from Alaska LNG, with deliveries targeted from 2032 at the earliest as the company is considering investing up to $4.4 billion in the Glenfarne-led project.

Gas prices at Europe’s benchmark TTF trading hub have hit four-year highs, tilting JKM-TTF spreads in favour of LNG deliveries to Asia. The TTF Dec26 contract increased markedly, according to Spark Commodities data, beginning to affect the arbitrage economics for US LNG.

Edison CEO Nicola Monti has confirmed EDF suspended an IPO or sale of its minority stake in its Italian subsidiary Edison due to uncertainty over Qatari LNG deliveries, citing the lack of visibility over Qatari LNG deliveries and unfavourable market conditions. The process could resume in early 2027.

The Shra'ouh LNG tanker is diverting away from India to the UK. The vessel’s AIS tracker had been signalling a course to Dhamra in India, but is now heading to UK Isle of Grain for 22 October instead, according to ICIS ship tracking data.