On the move: an LNG tanker
Asian LNG prices climb
Spot prices of liquefied natural gas in Asia Pacific rose slightly over last week, with deals beginning to be seen for December and January delivery.
Asian spot LNG prices nudged up to $5.50 per million British thermal unit from levels under $5 just over a week ago, traders said, with prices seen around $6.50 for November delivery and nearing $7 in December, sources said.
"The market anticipates some demand from Taiwan and South Korea," said one trader.
Korea's September LNG imports fell 35% from a year earlier to 1.19 million tonnes because of low demand from local utilities.
However, as winter beckons, South Korea may seek more LNG imports for heating demand amid falling domestic stockpiles. One source said Kogas is looking for prices for December and January, though no deals have yet been reported.
The market also eyed potential spot demand from Japan, after a problem prompted Tokyo Electric Power Company to cut power output at the 1100 megawatt No. 4 reactor at its Fukushima-Daini nuclear plant to around 30% of capacity and the unit might be shut.
A slow start-up in Indonesia's Tangguh LNG plant also underpinned prices, traders said.
The first of two trains at the BP-led, 7.6-million-tonne-per-year Tangguh plant began operations in July, but was shut down in August until the end of September to resolve technical problems. The first delivery from Train 2 at Tangguh is expected this month.
But the gains in the Asian spot prices are limited due to weaker requirements from China.
Guangdong Dapeng LNG, China's first LNG terminal - a joint venture between CNOOC, BP and other companies in southern China's Guangdong province - sees no need for more spot LNG purchases this year.
Europe continued to suck up large amounts of LNG last week and September imports show a striking rise over last year.
Total European LNG imports in September were 4.234 million tonnes, a 42% increase year on year, as Qatar, Algeria and Trinidad all increased shipments to Europe year on year, according to Waterborne Energy analysts in Houston, who see further increases into October and November.
LNG imports to the US have hovered just over 1 bcf per day since August, and have not increased over last year's levels, as was expected at the beginning of this year, as gas prices stayed low due to ample domestic supply, reported Reuters.