Shipping

The backlog of vessels at the Suez Canal was dwindling Thursday after a massive container ship was freed following a week-long blockade, and little impact was seen — for now — on the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade. As of Thursday, about 250 ships had transited the canal since Monday (March 29), down from…

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. said Tuesday its liquefied natural gas (LNG) freight futures contracts launched Monday and were traded by leading industry players on their first day.  The contracts are based on LNG freight spot price assessments by Spark Commodities. ICE said 15 lots of the Spark30S Atlantic and 15 lots of the Spark25S Pacific contracts…

Qatar Petroleum (QP) has joined forces with other major liquefied natural gas (LNG) players to collaborate on the development of new vessel designs to transport the super-chilled fuel across the world.  ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell plc and Total SE joined with QP in signing an agreement to develop new medium and large LNG tankers with…

Royal Dutch Shell plc has ordered 10 oil tankers with dual-fuel liquefied natural gas (LNG) engines as it aims to boost its fleet. “This significant commitment will see Shell hit a new milestone for our fleet decarbonization with an average of 50% of our crude tankers on time charter powered by dual-fuel LNG engines once…

Utility Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd. has joined forces with 14 other Japanese city gas end-users to form an alliance dedicated to buying and promoting carbon-neutral liquefied natural gas (LNG).  The Carbon Neutral LNG Buyers Alliance plans to promote awareness for decarbonized cargoes, which, unlike traditional shipments, offsets emissions with credit purchases that fund worldwide environmental…

A roundup of news and commentary from NGI’s LNG Insight Feed gas nominations to U.S. LNG export terminals are strengthening after frigid temperatures brought operations to a standstill. NGI data showed nominations at 8.66 Bcf early Monday, or roughly 86% of U.S. LNG capacity, according to Wood Mackenzie.  Nominations haven’t bounced back fully as Freeport…

The Panama Canal is a vital passage for moving goods from the Atlantic to Pacific oceans faster, and since its expansion in 2016 to accommodate larger vessels and increasing liquefied natural gas (LNG) traffic, it’s become a crucial route in moving LNG from the United States to Asia in a timely manner.   LNG traffic has…

In a third consecutive day of topsy-turvy trading, natural gas futures ultimately finished firmly in negative territory, as markets fixated more on shifting weather patterns than a bullish storage report and rising U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) volumes. The February Nymex gas futures contract settled at $2.666/MMBtu, down 6.1 cents day/day. March fell 5.9 cents…

A roundup of news and commentary from NGI’s LNG Insight The Japan Korea Marker spot price jumped 15% day/day to shatter Monday’s record at $32.494/MMBtu amid a supply shortage and severe winter weather. Trafigura Group Pte. Ltd. also reportedly purchased a cargo for delivery in the region at $39.30. The rally continued in Europe as…