Japanese power producer Jera said this week that it has signed multiple long-term LNG supply agreements with US partners over the past two months, to procure up to 5.5mn t/yr over 20 years. This includes 2mn t/yr from NextDecade and 1mn t/yr from Commonwealth LNG. It also signed non-binding interim agreements with Sempra Infrastructure for 1.5mn t/yr and with developer Cheniere for 1mn t/yr. The deals offer competitive pricing and flexible contract terms. All supply will be delivered on a fob basis priced against the US' Henry Hub, allowing Jera to optimise shipping routes and respond flexibly to domestic demand and market conditions, the company said.
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Hormuz traffic at 9 vessels: Update
Hormuz traffic at 9 vessels: Update
New York, 3 September (Argus) — A total of nine vessels crossed the strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, with four inbound and five outbound transits, data from maritime security firm Windward shows. Of the inbound transits, one was a tanker on the US-assisted southern lane, while two of the five outbound ships were on the southern lane. The remaining transits took place on the Iranian-controlled northern lane. Wednesday's transits are up by five vessels from the day before, but still far below the pre-war average of around 135 vessels daily. Vessel traffic on Wednesday stood at around 6.5pc of traffic levels prior to the joint US-Israeli attack on Iran on 28 February. The US Central Command assisted 44 transits through the strait of Hormuz between 1-2 September, according to data posted Thursday by the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre. The figure could not be corroborated by any available satellite or vessel tracking information reviewed by Argus . US President Donald Trump continues to claim large amounts of crude is making it through the strait of Hormuz, posting a graphic titled "Hormuz Oil Volumes are BACK!" on social media Thursday. The graphic claims that "now" 18mn b/d of crude are exiting the strait of Hormuz, prior to "before", when volumes were around 20mn b/d. Vice president JD Vance echoed Trump's claims, stating that 15mn bl of crude exited the strait of Hormuz overnight at a White House press briefing on Thursday. There have been some days where combined flows from the Mideast Gulf, including loadings from ports in the UAE and Oman, reached close to 18mn b/d, such as on 9 August, per data from vessel information firm TankerTrackers.com. But the daily average for flows through the strait remains far below pre-war levels. As of 2 September, over the prior 28 complete days 7.54mn b/d exited the Mideast Gulf, according to TankerTrackers.com, including 5.04mn b/d through the strait of Hormuz. The rate for a very large crude carrier to move crude from the Mideast Gulf through Hormuz to Asia-Pacific rose to an all-time high of $19.39/bl on 2 September, a $11.69/bl premium over the route that bypasses Hormuz and starts in the Gulf of Oman, Argus data shows. By Charlotte Bawol Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Hormuz traffic at 9 vessels: Windward
Hormuz traffic at 9 vessels: Windward
New York, 3 September (Argus) — A total of nine vessels crossed the strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, with four inbound and five outbound transits, data from maritime security firm Windward shows. Of the inbound transits, one was a tanker on the US-assisted southern lane, while two of the five outbound ships were on the southern lane. The remaining transits took place on the Iranian-controlled northern lane. Wednesday's transits are up by five vessels from the day before , but still far below the pre-war average of around 135 vessels daily. Vessel traffic on Wednesday stood at around 6.5pc of traffic levels prior to the joint US-Israeli attack on Iran on 28 February. US president Donald Trump continues to claim large amounts of crude is making it through the strait of Hormuz, posting a graphic titled "Hormuz Oil Volumes are BACK!" on social media on Thursday. The graphic claims that "now" 18mn b/d of crude are exiting the strait of Hormuz, prior to "before", when volumes were around 20mn b/d. There have been some days where combined flows from the Mideast Gulf, including loadings from ports in the UAE and Oman, reached close to 18mn b/d, such as on 9 August, per data from vessel information firm TankerTrackers.com. But the daily average for flows through the strait remains far below pre-war levels. As of 2 September, over the prior 28 complete days 7.54mn b/d exited the Mideast Gulf, according to TankerTrackers.com, including 5.04mn b/d through the strait of Hormuz. Combined crude, refined products and natural gas flows through the strait stood at around 23.7mn b/d between January-February before the outbreak of the war, data from vessel tracking firm Vortexa shows. By Charlotte Bawol Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Hormuz vessel traffic drops further: Update
Hormuz vessel traffic drops further: Update
New York, 2 September (Argus) — Vessel traffic through the strait of Hormuz on Tuesday fell to some of the lowest levels in months as the US and Iran exchanged strikes around the narrow waterway. Only four vessels transited the strait on Tuesday, down from 13 on Monday, data from maritime security firm Windward shows. Tuesday's transits were split between one inbound trip on the Iranian-controlled northern lane and three outbound trips, including two on the southern US-assisted lane. This puts vessel traffic below 3pc of its levels prior to the US-Israel attacks on Iran on 28 February. "TRUMP STRAIT" US officials continue to claim control over the strait of Hormuz and assure that large flows of crude are exiting the narrow waterway, despite increased military activity in the region. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Wednesday in an interview with CNBC that more than 17mn bl were shipped through the strait on Monday, higher than pre-conflict levels. Vessel tracking and satellite data from Windward, Kpler and Vortexa reviewed by Argus does not corroborate this figure. Vessel information firm TankerTrackers.com (TT) said on Wednesday that the average flows of crude through the strait from 14 July onwards stands around 4.9mn b/d, and that during the past 28 complete days there have been only six days where more than 10mn bl of crude departed from the Mideast Gulf, which include flows through Hormuz and loadings in the Gulf of Oman from ports such as Fujairah, UAE and Mina Al Fahal, Oman. "Now that we have it under U.S.A control, should we change the name Hormuz strait to TRUMP STRAIT???" US President Donald Trump said in a social media post on Wednesday. Trump earlier in the day described the US as having almost total control over the strait. US Central Command, which oversees US forces in the Middle East, claimed in a UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre report that the US facilitated the transit of 39 vessels through the strait of Hormuz in the final two days of August, a figure that is not corroborated by any available satellite or vessel tracking information. Iran crude exports drop The US continues to enforce its blockade on Iranian ports. As of Tuesday, Centcom said it has redirected 84 commercial vessels, disabled three ships and boarded two, in order to ensure compliance with a blockade of Iranian ports it reimposed on 14 July. Iranian oil exports have stalled following the reimposition and enforcement of the US' blockade. Data from vessel tracking service Kpler shows no crude exports last month, and TT said on Tuesday that Iranian crude exports are down 100pc from their pre-war baseline. Iran cut its oil production over the summer to match its domestic refining and consumption, so the country is under little logistic pressure to export crude, explaining the lack of tanker loadings at Iran's main export hub Kharg Island, TT said on Wednesday. Iran has increasingly been attacking commercial vessels in the strait of Hormuz and attempting to further crack down on vessel traffic through the waterway. Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority, established after the breakout of the war, added 12 new vessels to its list of non-compliant vessels for a total of 57. By Charlotte Bawol Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
LNG winter arbitrage closed even on sunk freight costs
LNG winter arbitrage closed even on sunk freight costs
London, 2 September (Argus) — The forward inter-basin arbitrage to ship US Gulf coast LNG to northeast Asia by the Cape of Good Hope in the winter is closed, even assuming sunk freight costs, as boil-off costs are greater than the northeast Asia des premium to northwest Europe. Assuming an extra 55-day round trip from the Gulf coast to northeast Asia compared with northwest Europe, firms would pay over $1/mn Btu in boil-off costs alone, if they use a 174,000m³ two-stroke carrier with a 0.08pc/d boil-off rate (see boil-off graph) . For every $1/mn Btu that Asian prices rise, should des spreads hold steady, the boil-off difference between delivering to Asia and Europe increases by 4.5¢/mn Btu. Boil-off costs are now higher than the inter-basin des spread for November-March, assuming delivery to Asia a month later than Europe. And boil-off costs are also greater even assuming no delivery lag over December-March. This means that for the inter-basin arbitrage to be open on a forward basis, charter rates would have to be negative, even with no delivery month lag (see implied charter rate graph) . Some Asian firms with Atlantic basin offtake have taken term cargoes from the US to their own import terminals since the strait of Hormuz was essentially closed to tanker traffic because of supply security concerns, even if there was a slight incentive to deliver elsewhere. Given the clear incentive to deliver to Europe over the winter instead of Asia, it is more profitable to deliver to Europe and buy cargoes from Asia to backfill lost supply. But if the strait of Hormuz remains closed later in the winter, Asia will probably need to compete for at least some Atlantic basin supply , as December and January is when Asian demand peaks, suggesting inter-basin des spreads would need to widen. The inter-basin arbitrage is firmly closed later in the first quarter because of backwardation in delivered prices, which means that delivering in a later month to Asia can lead to a des spread of more than $4/mn Btu compared with delivering to Europe. By Martin Senior Des spread vs boil-off cost difference Forward arbitrage expressed in breakeven charter rates Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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