LNG

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz resumes, with 22 Japan-linked ships, including six large crude oil tankers and several LNG carriers, transited the strait to exit between July 7 and 9, transport minister Yasushi Kaneko said at a news conference in Tokyo. The number of Japan-flagged vessels in the Gulf has fallen from 45 to just four, with shipowners declining to comment on safety precautions for the crew.

Lithuania’s Ignitis has booked an additional 2 terawatt-hours (TWh) of annual regasification capacity at the Klaipėda LNG terminal between 2033 and 2044 on the secondary market as Baltic gas demand stays high.

Chevron has agreed to supply 46 petajoules of pipeline gas to Alinta Energy from July 1, 2027, drawing its equity interests in the Gorgon, Wheatstone and North West Shelf LNG projects. The accord covers pipeline gas, not LNG export cargoes, as the competition between local supply obligation and LNG exports intensifies.

Falling fertility rates and an early peak in global population are set to reshape LNG demand, reinforcing its role in power generation while capping broader growth in gas consumption. Global population could peak at around 8.9 billion by 2053, earlier and lower than previously forecast, as fertility rates decline from 2.6 births per woman in 2007 to around 2.2 today, according to Wood Mackenzie. China’s population is already 9.6 million below the UN’s 2024 projection, underscoring the speed of demographic change.

Kinetics, a Karpowership initiative, has begun construction of its first high-capacity floating storage and regasification unit, LNGT Karadeniz, at Seatrium’s Tuas Boulevard yard in Singapore. The vessel will provide up to 600 million standard cubic feet per day of regasification capacity.

TotalEnergies has shipped the first LNG cargo from ECA LNG Phase 1 in Mexico to Asia, marking a commissioning milestone for the 3.25 mtpa Pacific-facing terminal, feed with U.S. natural gas delivered by pipeline from Permian Basin.

Venture Global’s average liquefaction fee surged 69% in the second quarter to an average $6.45 per million British thermal units, up from $3.82/MMBtu in the first quarter, as higher LNG prices lifted returns on commissioning cargoes and short-term sales, the company said in a regulatory filing.

UTM Offshore is forging ahead with Nigeria’s first floating LNG project after securing a 15-year gas supply agreement that removes one of the biggest obstacles to reaching final investment decision (FID), now expected in Q4-2026.

Premiums are being paid to secure scarce LNG carrier yard slots as shipyards in South Korea and China struggle to keep up with surging demand for newbuild vessels, according to market sources. Deferrals of 17 LNG carriers linked to the Mozambique LNG project, freed up sought-after slots at Samsung Heavy Industries and HD Hyundai Samho.

Limited shipbuilding capacity in South Korea and China could slow down a record expansion of global LNG supply. One of the industry’s dependencies – the ability to physically move gas – rests on a supply chain it cannot control and cannot quickly replicate, Ikram Elloumi, director of research at Wood Mackenzie warns.