Russia

NO. 1: The Biden administration has rejected a proposal from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to tie a national security package to a temporary pause on new LNG export authorizations.  Johnson reportedly wanted to advance aid for Ukraine and Israel in exchange for lifting the pause imposed in January by the Biden administration. The administration…

Russia’s Gazprom PJSC will reportedly increase its ownership of Sakhalin 2 LNG project, placing more of the country’s export capacity under state-owned company’s control as sanctions continue to pressure its oil and pipeline gas revenues. According to the Russian government, a 27.5% stake valued at $1.6 billion is to be sold to Gazprom, increasing its…

While LNG demand still remains mostly lax across Europe and Asia, the specter of supply volatility helped stoke global prices Monday as traders reacted to a bevy of attacks in Russia and Ukraine. The Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) continued its upward march from last week, closing above $9/MMBtu. Asian liquefied natural gas prices followed…

Negotiations between Russia and China over the Power of Siberia 2 (POS 2) pipeline, which would further link the countries, have shown no signs of gaining traction.  Although Moscow is eager to close the deal, disagreements over pricing, tariffs, taxes, financing and the pipeline route may make it difficult for the project to meet its…

U.S. sanctions announced late last year have so far succeeded in inhibiting trade flows from Russian LNG export facilities.   Sanctions have affected the sale, transport and transshipment of liquefied natural gas from PAO Novatek’s 19.8 million tons (Mt)/year Arctic LNG 2 facility, creating “a two tier universe for Russian LNG,” Kpler analyst Viktor Katona said…

The tensions ratcheting up in the Middle East have left the Suez Canal devoid of LNG carriers to start the week, adding shipping lags and costs to cargoes for possibly the rest of the winter. However, the global natural gas market appears locked into a downward spiral as forecasts point to weaker price dynamics through…

Natural gas prices worldwide have continued to edge down as lagging winter weather and abundant storage win out over increasing risks in the Middle East and earthquakes in Japan. Gas markets were relatively muted Tuesday despite a New Year’s Day tremor that impacted Japan, the world’s second largest LNG buyer. The 7.6 magnitude quake originated…

Sempra is betting that continued global energy volatility and geopolitical tensions will strengthen North America’s key natural gas markets, supporting its investments in LNG exports and Mexico. In the San Diego-based firm’s third quarter earnings call, CEO Jeff Martin said the series of global conflicts that have impacted global markets recently have accelerated a “trend…

Algeria is keeping its promise to supply Europe with additional natural gas as the continent continues replacing Russian imports.  Algeria LNG exports reached record highs during the first nine months of this year, increasing 35% year-over-year to 9.94 million tons (Mt), according to Kpler data.  Algeria liquefied natural gas exports are being supported by a…