Anyone wanting to perfect the basic fundamentals of trading and optimizing LNG sales on the global market probably need look no further than to Shell plc. The No. 1 global liquefied natural gas trader, and Europe’s leading oil and gas producer, overcame slumping commodity prices during the first quarter to deliver increased production and higher LNG volumes. European gas prices slipped between January and March from a year ago. The decline was expected to ding the Integrated Gas segment profits. The segment includes LNG and the gas-to-liquids (GTL) business. That, however, was far from the cas ..read more

A move to force more scrutiny of Kinder Morgan Inc.’s Evangeline Pass natural gas pipeline expansion in Louisiana was struck down Tuesday by a federal appeals court. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit tossed a petition to halt the Evangeline Pass Expansion underway by Kinder’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. LLC.  The expansion is designed to serve the Plaquemines LNG export project by Venture Global LNG Inc. Evangeline Pass, which already has FERC approval, is expanding and modifying infrastructure on Southern Natural Gas Co. LLC and Tennessee pipelines.  [Ins ..read more

As traders prepared to digest a potential surplus-trimming result from the latest government inventory data, natural gas futures rebounded in early trading Thursday. The June Nymex contract was up 3.9 cents to $1.971/MMBtu as of 8:51 a.m. ET, clawing back a good chunk of the previous session’s 5.9-cent decline. Pre-report estimates were pointing to a somewhat lighter-than-average injection for this week’s U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) natural gas storage report, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET. NGI modeled a 56 Bcf injection for the latest EIA print, which covers changes to Lower 48 ..read more

While U.S. natural gas producers are working to balance production with the limited commodity price upside to the end of the year, DT Midstream Inc. (DTM) is expecting Gulf Coast LNG demand to drive a bevy of expansion projects through the decade. The Detroit-based gas infrastructure firm has committed $265-295 million for growth projects this year, including for additional phases of its Louisiana Energy Access Project (LEAP) pipeline project and an expansion of the Blue Union gathering system in the Haynesville Shale. Altogether, the company could sanction as much as $375 million worth of pro ..read more

Feed gas flows to Freeport LNG continued to tick up as a fully loaded vessel left the Texas export facility for the first time in a week, indicating Train 3 operations could be stabilizing. Nominations of natural gas to the plant began increasing April 27 after hovering near zero for several days, according to Wood Mackenzie pipeline data. Flows appeared to slip again Tuesday, coinciding with a critical notice from Gulf South Pipeline Co. LLC, but were up to near 500,000 MMBtu Wednesday (May 1). It marks the first time nominations for the Freeport liquefied natural gas export facility have bee ..read more

Natural gas buying at prices linked to dominant benchmarks like Henry Hub, the Japan-Korea Marker and the Title Transfer Facility last year again outpaced purchases linked to oil prices in a trend being driven largely by LNG trade growth, according to the International Gas Union (IGU). Between 2005 and 2023, the share of global gas-on-gas (GOG) competition to consumption rose to 50% from 31.5%. The share of crude-indexed transactions fell from 24% to 18% of gas consumption, according to IGU’s 16th annual Wholesale Gas Price Survey.  Since 2016, buying linked to gas hubs has increasingly g ..read more

Egypt has halted all LNG exports beginning in May as lower domestic natural gas production has forced the North African country to divert supply to local power demand during the summer months. Last year was Egypt’s hottest summer on record, with temperatures surpassing 95 F. This summer is forecast to have similar temperatures. Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy has already resorted to daily power cuts since mid-April in some regions of the country to reduce gas consumption. Egypt’s energy minister Tarek El-Molla noted in February that Egypt had stopped liquified natural gas ..read more

Natural gas futures were trading higher at the front of the curve early Tuesday as updated estimates offered further evidence of declining springtime production volumes. Coming off a 10.7-cent rally on Monday, the June Nymex contract was up 1.3 cents to $2.043/MMBtu at around 8:50 a.m. ET. Estimates from Wood Mackenzie as of early Tuesday showed daily domestic production dropping to 96.9 Bcf/d, off around 2 Bcf/d day/day. This included a roughly 1.5 Bcf/d upward revision to Monday’s sample. “Day/day declines are concentrated in Texas and the Northeast, where there is maintenance underway, but ..read more

A roundup of news and commentary from the global gas market Venture Global LNG Inc. is looking to import at least three liquefied natural gas cargoes to aid in commissioning of Plaquemines LNG, according to a Department of Energy (DOE) filing. The Virginia-based company asked DOE for permission to import up to 600 MMcf over a two-year period. The company also asked for imports to begin in mid-June, and expects all LNG cargoes to be received later this year. Venture Global told DOE it expects LNG production at Plaquemines to begin by mid-2024 and that sourcing LNG for cooling down the facility ..read more

European and Asian natural gas prices fell Monday as supply constraints eased, mainly at Freeport LNG on the upper Texas coast, which has restarted one of its three trains. Feed gas flows to the facility ticked upward over the weekend and were nominated Monday at nearly 800 MMcf/d, or their highest level in three weeks. The gains pushed overall U.S. feed gas flows to 12.7 Bcf/d on Monday, up from 12.2 Bcf/d over the past week, according to Wood Mackenzie estimates.  Freeport’s third train has mostly been offline since January after freezing temperatures caused electrical issues that neede ..read more