LNG
Overview
LNG's role as a key feedstock is well established as it helps manage both input costs and carbon emissions. Heavy industrial users' drive to achieve net zero targets has added a new dimension to how and where it is being deployed. Overall, its use is expected to increase and is tipped to become the strongest-growing fossil fuel.
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Trump promises Hormuz deal 'soon'
Trump promises Hormuz deal 'soon'
Washington, 6 August (Argus) — President Donald Trump again said on Thursday that a deal to reopen the strait of Hormuz to navigation is imminent, even though Tehran appears to be insisting on major concessions from Washington. "I am involved in the negotiations," Trump told reporters at the White House, adding that "we're doing fine" and that a deal could be concluded "very soon". Trump may have been referring to the dialogue between Iran and Oman when he began on 2 August to reference ongoing talks with Iran that he said would result in reopening Hormuz within a day or two. Iran and Oman are close to issuing a joint statement specifying "geographical co-ordinates" of a safe transit route through Hormuz, Iran's foreign ministry said on Wednesday. But Tehran is demanding the lifting of the US blockade and other concessions from Washington. The deal with Oman "by itself would not make Hormuz safe for transit", Iran's foreign ministry said. The US naval blockade remains in place, and the strait of Hormuz is "sort of open right now", Trump said on Thursday. But he acknowledged that threats posed by Iran are deterring many shippers from using the Mideast Gulf waterway. "We control it, but they can always shoot something, or drop a mine, and if you have one mine sitting out there, you sort of mess things up because people don't want to take their billion-dollar boats and accidentally get hit by a mine," he said. Trump, who has been expressing unease about elevated energy prices, said on Thursday that "oil prices now are coming down very rapidly, it's down to $75/bl". September Nymex WTI rose by $2.07/bl to $77.29/bl on Thursday, bouncing higher after steep losses earlier in the week. Vessel traffic through the strait of Hormuz on Wednesday remained confined mostly to the Iranian-favored northern traffic lane, with maritime security firm Windward recording nine inbound transits and 11 outbound transits, with two transits in both directions taking place on the US-supported southern traffic lane along the coast of Oman. Iran continues to exert pressure on commercial shipping through the strait by attacking intermittently and by issuing warnings to vessels. A tanker transiting north toward the strait of Hormuz on Wednesday reported two loud explosions in its vicinity, leading it to alter its course and abort transit, according to the UK Trade Maritime Operations (UKTMO). Iran's forces on Thursday confronted "hostile enemy targets" near the Qeshm island in the strait of Hormuz, said Iranian news agency Tasnim, which is tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. The report did not detail whether any vessel came under attack. The Iranian claim has not been independently verified. By Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Cheniere’s next train nears LNG production
Cheniere’s next train nears LNG production
Houston, 6 August (Argus) — The final train of Cheniere's 14mn t/yr (1.9bn ft³/d) stage 3 project at Corpus Christi LNG in Texas is close to beginning production, the US LNG developer announced on Wednesday, as the expansion's earlier-than-expected startup helps the firm raise its 2026 output guidance. First LNG from the expansion's seventh train is "expected imminently", the producer said in its earnings release. Separately, Cheniere also sought permission to flow feedgas into parts of the cold end of train 7 on Wednesday, according to a filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), a request that has portended first LNG within the following week for the expansion's previous trains. Cheniere expects train 7 to be fully on line and begin commercial service this autumn. Contractor Bechtel has brought the seven-train expansion, which began producing LNG in late 2024, into service ahead of schedule, helping Cheniere tighten its production guidance for 2026 to 53mn-54mn t, up from 52mn-54mn t in the previous quarter and from 51mn-53mn t at the start of the year. The LNG producer told investors it has less than 1mn t of unsold spot capacity remaining. The company has undergone minor maintenance at Corpus Christi LNG and its 33mn t/yr Sabine Pass export terminal in Louisiana throughout 2026 and intends to wrap up its planned outages by the end of August. Cheniere reaffirmed its target to start construction on the first phase of an expansion at Sabine Pass in early 2027, pending FERC's approval by late 2026. The company signed a deal with Bechtel in May to oversee the engineering, procurement and construction of the 20mn t/yr expansion at Sabine Pass, the first phase of which would include a 6mn t/yr liquefaction train and 1mn t/yr of boil-off gas reliquefaction capacity. The first phase is already fully commercialized. Cheniere has sold 10mn t/yr under long-term contracts that it can apply to its expansion efforts, the company said earlier this year. By Tray Swanson Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Australia's Beach to raise oil, gas output in FY27
Australia's Beach to raise oil, gas output in FY27
Sydney, 6 August (Argus) — Rebuilding reserves will be a priority for Australian independent Beach Energy in its July 2026-June 2027 fiscal year, the firm said in its full-year results published today. It has also set a higher production guidance for the 2026-27 fiscal year, forecasting 19.5mn-23mn bl of oil equivalent (boe) for the fiscal year, up from 19.4mn boe in the 2025-26 fiscal year . This is due to increased volumes from Beach's Waitsia gas plant in Western Australia given that the 250 TJ/d joint venture operated by Japan's Mitsui reached capacity in April after being hampered by performance issues during start-up. Ongoing discussions are underway with the Western Australian government and the 14.3mn t/yr North West Shelf LNG terminal on extending Waitsia's permit to export LNG beyond the end of 2028 . Waitsia can export about 1.5mn t/yr under the existing deal. Beach's underlying net profit was down by 21pc on the year to A$355mn ($250mn) due to lower sales revenue, impacts of a flood in the Cooper basin in South Australia and a decline in offshore Otway basin assets, with field decline of close to 10pc. Its capital management strategy aims to grow organic and inorganic reserves and to look at acquisitions, Beach said, with A$983mn in available liquidity on its balance sheet to fund potential acquisitions. It is targeting final investment decisions (FIDs) for a two-well exploration campaign in the nearshore Otway basin in the first half of its 2026-27 fiscal year and expects to take an FID for the Waitsia inlet compression project in January-June 2027. Beach holds a 25pc stake in the ATP 2081 exploration permit in Queensland's onshore Taroom trough where a two-well exploration campaign is planned in October-December, with operator Omega Oil and Gas considering a seismic survey in the 2027-28 fiscal year. The federal government's planned domestic supply obligation (DSO) to oversupply the market with gas from LNG producers' projects has been strongly opposed by Beach. Negotiations continue on the final design of the scheme, but chief executive Brett Woods said he was continuing to advocate for a fair system for domestic suppliers, noting that the competition regulator the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has said A$12-13/GJ gas prices were needed to continue to support the market. Beach reported a realised gas price of A$11.50/GJ last fiscal year. Some contracting of gas supply has occurred in recent months, Woods said, despite uncertainty about the DSO's impact, at "strong pricing in and around ACCC-identified levels". A final outcome on the DSO design is expected by the end of 2026 ahead of commencement in July next year. The Argus -assessed AWX for spot gas deliveries in August to Wallumbilla rose by about A$0.08/GJ from a week earlier to A$10.65/GJ on 31 July, while Argus ' AVX for August deliveries into Victoria fell by A$0.08/GJ from a week earlier to A$10.35/GJ. By Tom Major Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Hormuz reopening hinges on Iran-Omani deal
Hormuz reopening hinges on Iran-Omani deal
Washington, 5 August (Argus) — Diplomatic efforts to reopen the strait of Hormuz to navigation are revolving around an Iran-Omani understanding over the management of shipping routes leading to and from the Mideast Gulf. Iran and Oman are close to issuing a joint statement specifying "geographical coordinates" of a safe transit route through Hormuz, "if some third parties do not obstruct work in this regard", Iran's foreign ministry said on Wednesday. An Iran-Omani understanding could provide adequate diplomatic cover for President Donald Trump's administration to adhere to the terms of a deal it signed with Iran in June and set aside a month later. Trump may have been referring to the Iran-Omani dialogue when he began on 2 August to reference ongoing talks with Iran that he said would result in reopening Hormuz within a day or two. Trump, speaking to reporters late on Tuesday, reiterated that a deal to reopen Hormuz could be concluded by Wednesday or Thursday. And US energy secretary Chris Wright noted on Tuesday: "We're very close to an arrangement that'll achieve both of the objectives: stop impeding the flow of traffic out through the strait of Hormuz and get energy flows going globally." Oil markets appear to be taking seriously US assurances that a deal is imminent. Details of talks with Oman that Iran's foreign ministry shared last week indicate that Tehran is insisting on full control over ships entering the Mideast Gulf and at least partial oversight of the exit routes through the waterway. That arrangement would fall short of the principle of freedom of navigation and unrestricted transit through the waterway that the US, European and Mideast Gulf governments said they are keen to re-establish. But the White House may have concluded — as it did in June — that Hormuz could not be reopened by military means. Vessels transiting through Hormuz have primarily been using the Iranian-favored northern traffic lanes since mid-July. Iran has periodically attacked vessels sailing through a southern route skirting the Omani coast, which theoretically is protected by the US naval and air forces positioned in the region. The Pentagon insists that the southern route remains open to navigation. But even numbers cited by the US military — 30 vessels over 2-3 August — fall far short of the pre-war transit levels through Hormuz of more than 100 vessels daily. The now-defunct US-Iran "memorandum of understanding", signed in June, involved other concessions from Washington. The deal called for the US to lift its naval blockade on Iranian trade, to grant crude buyers unrestricted waivers to access Iranian oil and to give Tehran access to its frozen funds in foreign banks, estimated to total at least $24bn. The US in mid-July reimposed the blockade, revoked the sanctions waiver and refused to allow Iran to repatriate its frozen funds. Tehran appears to be demanding similar concessions as a condition for reopening Hormuz to navigation. The Iran-Omani understanding by itself would not make Hormuz safe for transit "because the factors that make the strait of Hormuz unsafe by the US, especially the naval blockade and other aggressive and threatening actions against Iran and its interests, still exist," Iran's foreign ministry said on Wednesday. US-Iranian negotiations for more than a decade had focused on Tehran's nuclear program, a goal that Trump says remains his top priority. But the war Trump started has refocused diplomacy with Iran toward reopening a waterway that had been fully open to navigation before the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February. By Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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