LNG

Vietnam’s Vingroup has proposed scrapping plans for what would have been the country’s largest LNG-fired power plant and replacing it with a renewable‑plus‑battery scheme, as soaring LNG prices make the 4.8 GW Hai Phong venture financially unviable.

Vitol’s head of LNG, Pablo Galante Escobar, has warned the halt in Middle Eastern supply could develop into a food crisis, unless transits through the Strait of Hormuz resume. Longer term, the Gulf market could lose 20 mtpa of LNG supply growth in 2027 and 2028, because of damage to Qatari capacity and delays to new regional projects.

African LNG exports have increased 27% yoy to 11.32 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2026, as Qatari supply disruptions pushed European buyers to source more cargoes from Nigeria, Algeria and Angola.

Burckhardt Compression has secured multiple contracts to supply compressor systems for LNG terminal projects in Thailand and Taiwan. The order covers eight Laby compressors for boil-off gas handling and one unit for minimum send-out service.

Cheniere’s move to combine the CEO and chairman roles under Jack Fusco, effective May 14, could accelerate decision-making – though investors remain wary about the concentration of power at the leading US LNG exporter, which has more than 53 mtpa capacity in operation.

Weaker industrial activity and high LNG prices have slowed global gas demand markedly in 2025, the International Energy Agency (IEA) finds. Gas demand in the power sector grow by less than 1%, due to high spot LNG prices, improved nuclear availability in Asia and continued renewables growth.

Singapore’s state-backed gas buyer GasCo is stepping in to secure additional LNG cargoes as several Qatari shipments were disrupted by the regional conflict. Natural gas is Singapore’s main source of electricity, with about 60% of supply imported via seaborne LNG.

Pakistan and Qatar are in advanced talks to get at least four LNG cargoes routed through the Strait of Hormuz, as Pakistan faces an acute LNG crunch of about 400 million cubic feet per day (mmcf/d). That supply gap already caused electricity shortages and load-shedding.

Start-up delays appear to have prompted ExxonMobil to withdraw an offer to sell two initial LNG cargoes from Golden Pass on the spot market. The terminal has reached only about one-third of its liquefaction capacity since production began in late March, according to LSEG data.

US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has waived the mandatory pre-filing requirement for a third phase of Venture Global’s CP2 LNG expansion, signalling regulator’s openness to streamlining brownfield LNG build-outs. CP2 LNG Phase 3 is designed to boost peak liquefaction capacity from 28 mtpa to 35 mtpa.