LNG

Vopak has signed an accord with shipping firm Seapeak to provide a floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) for its planned LNG import terminal in Australia’s Victoria state. The FSRU is mean to receive cargoes from 2029, helping to avert supply shortages.

Shell CEO Wael Sawan is focussing on LNG to improve the company’s financial performance against its rivals. "We are absolutely committed to this sector," Sawan said, though the timing on financial close on LNG Canada Phase 2 will be reassessed.

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) will launch two new trading points at Trinity Gas Storage’s Bethel facility in East Texas on October 1. Direct transactions in and out of the 24 Bcf gas storage facility will sharpen price transparency in one of the fastest-growing corridors for US LNG exports.

The US Trump administration has remained silent in the face of Russia delivering the sixth cargo from the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project to China. “Higher volumes or shipments to other destinations could trigger a US response, though for now it is unlikely that any other country will take that risk,” said Rystad analyst Lu Ming Pang.

Russia’s energy giant Gazprom is expected to start producing gas at the Sakhalin-3 offshore project in 2028, with supplies to China via a new Far Eastern pipeline set to undercut the cost of LNG imports, according to Russian officials and industry data.

The Trump administration has started to implement a landmark trade deal by lowering auto tariffs to 15% – now the onus is on the EU to purchase $750 billion in US LNG, oil, and nuclear energy products by 2028. Additional long-term deliveries of US LNG will help the EU bring forward its ban on Russian LNG imports to January 2027.

Equity investors in US LNG projects are vary of margins squeezed by higher US gas prices vs lower global spot prices. Debt finance is still forthcoming supported by the Trump administrations overtly pro-gas policies, Wood Mackenzie finds.

Sempra has agreed to divest a 45% stake in its infrastructure arm to KKR and CPP Investments for $10 billion. By ceding majority control of its LNG export and midstream assets, Sempra’s future earnings will mostly come form regulated utilities.

Sempra has asked the US Department of Energy (DOE) to extend the export deadline for its $2.5 billion Energia Costa Azul LNG terminal on Mexico’s Pacific Coast. Construction delays push back commissioning to September 21, 2026.

First gas received at Santos’ BW Opal floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel puts the Australian major on track with the Darwin LNG project, CEO Kevin Gallagher said. Situated off Darwin, Northern Territories, the FSPO receives gas from the Barossa gas wells.