LNG

One month on. Is the US about to invade Kharg Island, Iran’s major oil hub in the Gulf, as President Trump has hinted?
Trump said over the weekend that the US and Iran had been meeting “directly and indirectly” and that Iran’s new leaders had been “very reasonable”.

The possibility of an outage lasting weeks at a major Australian LNG export plant will further exacerbate the global energy markets, already reeling from the Middle East crisis.

The Mediterranean region could become a critical demand centre for Atlantic Basin LNG.

This was due to Middle East supply disruptions, including the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, forcing Southern European and Turkish buyers to compete more aggressively for flexible cargoes, potentially reshaping regional price levels and global trade flows.

The combined impact of Iranian strikes on Qatari infrastructure and the halt of vessel traffic through Hormuz has removed a significant portion of flexible LNG supply from the global system, tightening prompt availability into Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, market participants said, according to an S&P Global report.

Qatar had exported 1.79 mill tonnes of LNG to Europe to March of this year, compared to 2.1 mill tonnes during the same period in 2025, according to S&P Global Energy CERA data.

Of that volume, 630,000 tonnes were destined for Mediterranean destinations, down 47.9% from 1.21 mill tonnes over the same period a year ago.

Last week, Platts assessed the Mediterranean marker at $17.436 per MMBtu, a 3 cent discount to NWE, while the Platts East Mediterranean Marker (EMM) was assessed at $17.666 per MMBtu, or a 20 cent premium to NWE.

Prices have retreated from recent peaks but were high. For example, on 19^th March, the Med marker surged to $20.728 per MMBtu and EMM to $20.978 per MMBtu, according to Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, data following news of the missile strikes on Qatar’s Ras Laffan complex, the country's key LNG export hub.

As a result of the shutdown in Middle East production, market participants said spot and flexible LNG availability into the Mediterranean Basin had sharply decreased.

This disruption had shifted attention toward Atlantic Basin suppliers, particularly the US, as the primary source of incremental cargoes. Traders said buyers in Italy, Greece and Turkey had increased their presence in the spot market, intensifying competition for prompt deliveries.

This shift risked redrawing traditional arbitrage flows, with Mediterranean demand potentially pulling cargoes away from other price-sensitive regions.

Turkey is expected to play an increasingly pivotal role in the Mediterranean LNG balance in the coming weeks.

Last week, Canada’s TC Energy’s Coastal GasLink (CGL) pipeline project signed commercial agreements with LNG Canada to move the project's second phase forward.

Belgian gas carrier owner and operator, EXMAR’s 2025 result was characterised by strong cash generation across its various business units.

EXMAR’s fleet has experienced no immediate operational impact resulting from the geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, thus far, the company said.

Its LNG infrastructure EBITDA reflected long-term contracts, as well as the strong performance of the engineering affiliate EOC, while the full year operating result is supported by the reversal of a warranty provision related to the EPC contract for the Congo’s Marine XII project.

An ever-increasing need for reliable and affordable energy is on top of the list of objectives and actions of governments. With ongoing geopolitical escalations, energy diversification at an affordable price is key, the company said in its results presentation.

As natural gas will remain a dominant source of energy in the years to come, the continued need for flexible and innovative floating infrastructure remains strong, the company added.

 In the LNG infrastructure business sector, ‘Eemshaven LNG’, the 600 mill cu ft per day regasification barge, has been operating for 3.5 years as an LNG import facility in Eemshaven, and achieved 100% uptime during 2025.

Venture Global and Edison have settled their pending arbitration concerning the Calcasieu Pass project.

Completion of the settlement is expected by the end of the second quarter of this year, at which point the arbitration will be terminated.

The agreement fully resolves the arbitration in its entirety. As part of the settlement, Edison and Venture Global have also agreed to the delivery to Europe of additional cargoes beyond those envisaged under the long-term contract, to support gas supplies primarily to the Italian market.

The first delivery is scheduled for May, 2026 to the Adriatic LNG terminal.

Venture Global said that the agreement represented a significant step in strengthening commercial co-operation between the parties and it established a foundation for further future deliveries in the context of the disruption caused by ongoing geopolitical events.

South Korea’s Foreign Minister, Cho Hyun, in a telephone conversation with Oman's Foreign Minister, Badr Albusaidi, asked Oman to supply LNG and crude oil.

The global marine insurance market is to maintain the availability of cargo, hull, liability and offshore energy cover for vessels trading in the Middle East region, despite increasing geopolitical tensions, the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) has confirmed.

Severe weather linked to ‘Cyclone Narelle’ has disrupted major gas infrastructure in Western Australia.

Thirty-five LNG vessels left US ports during the week ending 25^th March, the same number as recorded in the previous week.

Their LNG-carrying capacity was 134 bill cu ft, up less than 1 bill cu ft from the week before, according to data supplied to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) by Bloomberg Finance.

Nine vessels sailed from Sabine Pass, seven from Plaquemines, five each from Corpus Christi and Freeport, four from Cameron, three from Calcasieu Pass, and two from Cove Point.