A roundup of news and commentary from NGI’s LNG Insight

  • China’s LNG imports from the United States surged to 340,000 tons in May, according to Bloomberg. That’s up from 211,000 tons in April, when exports left the United States for China for the first time in more than a year after trade tensions ease. 
  • Wood Mackenzie: Indonesia’s LNG imports could increase 60% year/year to 3.1 million metric tons in the second half of 2020 despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Reduced pipeline gas and low spot prices have likely supported strong LNG intake so far this year, the firm said. 
  • Covid-19 will accelerate India’s energy transition toward natural gas as the pandemic weighs down the cost of the fuel, according to Morgan Stanley.
  • “As global oversupply has accelerated, prices for Asian gas consumers have deflated to the greatest extent ever,” Morgan Stanley analysts said. “We believe India is the biggest beneficiary as consumer prices have fallen 25% and remain structurally low at a time when gas infrastructure is doubling and the advent of renewables is making gas even more prominent in the fuel mix.”