LNG

Near-term availability of floating LNG terminals is tightening fast, with Fernley expecting a fresh wave of vessel conversions as floating storage and regas units (FSRUs) have achieved their highest-ever share of global LNG imports.

ADNOC Logistics & Services has placed an order for four LNG carriers at China’s Jiangnan Shipyard in a deal valued at around US$900 million. Each of the newbuild vessels will have a capacity of 175 000 cubic meters and is scheduled for delivery in 2029.

French contractor GTT has received an order from Samsung Heavy Industries to design the cryogenic membrane tanks for Delfin FLNG 1, the first US floating liquefaction and export unit with a planned capacity of 4.4 mtpa. Targeting a 2029 start-up with an estimated capital cost of $2.3 billion, Delfin FLNG has long-term offtake agreements in place with Germany's SEFE, Switzerland-based Gunvor Group, and New York-based commodity trader Hartree Partners.

The arbitrage for flexible US LNG cargoes heading to Asia is open with spreads between the Japan Korea Marker (JKM) and the Dutch TTF widening, as the tepid recovery of Qatari and UAE LNG exports is unlikely to outpace rebounding Asian demand.

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.