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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Qatar says strait of Hormuz will never 'be obsolete'
Qatar says strait of Hormuz will never 'be obsolete'
Dubai, 21 September (Argus) — Qatar's energy minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi has pushed back against a claim made by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent earlier this month that the Hormuz strait will be "worthless" within two years. "Maybe this is his view. [But] I think this is completely wrong," al-Kaabi told the Qatar Economic Forum in New York on 20 September. "If you look at all the trade that we have through the Hormuz strait ꟷ it cannot be obsolete," he said. "Everything that comes to Iraq, Iran, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain [goes through the strait]. We do have a few countries that have waterways outside the Gulf. But the rest of the countries are all inside the Gulf." Bessent made his comment about the strait on 1 September, arguing that the waterway would lose its significance as Mideast Gulf states build new pipelines that will help diversify energy exports from the region. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the only two Mideast Gulf countries that currently have crude oil pipelines allowing them to bypass the strait. The UAE is building a second pipeline that will almost double its capacity to bypass the strait, while Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait have all said they are actively working on plans to expand their capacities to bypass the strait for their oil exports. But al-Kaabi — who is also the chief executive of state-owned QatarEnergy (QE) — pointed out that the disruption of shipping through the strait is affecting more than just energy. "The Hormuz strait is not only oil and gas," he said. "It's bringing cars, it's bringing in merchandise. It's bringing in a lot of things that we need for our facilities." Al-Kaabi described the current crisis in the strait, which was triggered by the US-Iran war in late February, as "unprecedented" for the world. "To have a complete shutdown of all our oil and gas facilities, petrochemicals and a host of things that we produce, and for all of them to come down to zero in one go is unprecedented," he said. "Not only in Qatar, but in any country that produces oil and gas. This is uncharted territory." Al-Kaabi said Qatar has received proposals and offers to build gas pipelines through neighbouring countries to ports in Syria, Saudi Arabia, the UAE or Oman to lessen its dependency on the strait. But the government has ultimately decided not go down this route as it would not be technically or economically feasible, given the LNG expansion that is already underway in the country. "We have decided not to do pipelines. The decision was based on commercial and technical [factors]," he said. "We are only going to be using the strait." By Nader Itayim Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Territorial risks cloud Mexico’s Centauro expansion
Territorial risks cloud Mexico’s Centauro expansion
Mexico City, 18 September (Argus) — Territorial risks threaten to delay the second phase of Mexico's Centauro del Norte natural gas pipeline, designed to bring cheaper US Permian basin gas to northwestern power plants, while disparate metrics obscure its rate of progress. Grupo Carso is building the $1.43bn, approximately 442km (275-mile) pipeline across Baja California and Sonora states. The project will supply two of state-owned utility CFE's newest combined-cycle power plants and add generation capacity in a region facing grid constraints. The 72km first phase runs from an interconnection with Sempra's Rosarito pipeline near Mexicali to San Luis Rio Colorado, connecting the new plants to existing infrastructure. Mexicali's 641MW Gonzalez Ortega plant began commercial operations in May. CFE is also developing the 648MW San Luis Rio Colorado plant. Construction of the 365km second phase is not scheduled to begin until early 2027, with completion targeted for December 2028, but market sources doubt that schedule can be met. The expansion would receive Permian gas primarily through the Samalayuca-Sasabe pipeline system and northern cross-border hubs connected to west Texas supplies. The second phase presents territorial risks that engineering alone cannot resolve, Carlos Alberto Torres, a former official at state-owned Pemex, told Argus . These include its proximity to the El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar biosphere reserve, consultations with Tohono O'odham communities along the Sonoyta-Caborca corridor, rights of way across agricultural land near Caborca and Altar, and security conditions affecting workers and contractors. None has been confirmed as currently blocking the project, Torres said, but each could delay construction. Uncertainty has been compounded by the different scopes used to report progress. The energy ministry's 15-year hydrocarbons development plan, released on 7 September, put overall project progress at 7.12pc. Carso filings, meanwhile, showed progress rising from 47pc at the end of the first quarter to 77pc as of 30 June, likely referring only to the first phase. Those figures measure execution of a $47.85mn contract held by Carso subsidiary CICSA rather than the entire project. Carso's filings also vary in describing Centauro as either a two- or three-phase project. Carso has not responded to Argus requests for clarification, while the energy ministry's plan provides little detail beyond funding. "The question is not whether there is money, it is whether we are budgeting for territorial and regulatory risk with the same rigor as capex," Torres said. By James Young Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Germany, Spain, Portugal urge EU windfall tax options
Germany, Spain, Portugal urge EU windfall tax options
Brussels, 18 September (Argus) — The European Commission should present clear options for an excess profits tax on oil companies, German finance minister Lars Klingbeil said today, gaining support from some EU counterparts. France, however, cautioned against a one-size-fits-all approach. Klingbeil and his peers from Austria, Spain, Portugal, Poland and Italy called on the commission to outline possible windfall tax models ahead of a 9 October meeting of EU finance ministers in Luxembourg. "My clear expectation from the commission is to present models for an excess profit tax now," Klingbeil said at an informal ministerial meeting in Dublin. "There are also instruments we can use to steer the market. That includes a fuel price cap, but also the excess profit tax." French finance minister Roland Lescure said he was not opposed to a windfall tax but said national circumstances differ. "I'm willing to see what the commission is going to come up with," he said. "We also want to make sure that we don't put one-size-fits-all measures in place when national situations are different." European economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said the commission is not preparing an EU-wide proposal, and member states remain free to pursue national windfall tax measures. "There is a possibility, certainly for member states to proceed with this windfall profit taxation," Dombrovskis said, adding any measures should be temporary and targeted and should not increase fossil fuel demand. "When we are facing a supply shock, driving up demand will not help," he said. Klingbeil said Berlin is discussing reductions in fuel-related taxes, as flagged by German chancellor Friedrich Merz. "I want a clear, rapid signal at the gas pumps," Klingbeil said. "We are doing this as the federal government, but Europe must also contribute now to getting fuel prices down." Spanish economy minister Carlos Cuerpo also urged the commission to analyse energy-sector profits. "And if there are windfall profits, then we should go and tax them," Cuerpo said, arguing for a European approach so the costs are shared fairly. Portuguese economy minister Joaquim Jose Miranda said the commission has generally favoured national responses over a European solution. He said Portugal's automatic fuel tax reduction, introduced after the outbreak of war between Iran and the US, will remain in place for a "certain period". Austrian finance minister Markus Marterbauer called on the commission to examine energy-sector profit margins and earnings, and said he would be open to reintroducing a domestic cap on fuel margins. "Neither the state nor companies should profit from the high prices," he said. By Dafydd ab Iago Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Cameron LNG undergoing planned maintenance
Cameron LNG undergoing planned maintenance
Houston, 16 September (Argus) — Cameron LNG is carrying out planned maintenance on one of three liquefaction trains at its 15mn t/yr (2bn ft³/d) export terminal in southwest Louisiana, a company spokesperson told Argus on Wednesday. The company declined to comment on how long the maintenance is intended to last. Feedgas nominations to Cameron LNG fell to 1.3bn ft³ on Wednesday from 1.4bn ft³ on Tuesday and an average of 1.9bn ft³/d over the previous 30 days, pipeline data show ( see chart ). Cameron is the second US LNG export terminal to schedule maintenance during the September-October shoulder season. Berkshire Hathaway Energy's 5.75mn t/yr Cove Point LNG terminal in Maryland plans about two weeks of work beginning on 19 September. This comes with the LNG market constrained by the de facto closure of the strait of Hormuz, which has effectively shut in about 20pc of global supply since the US-Iran war began in late February. But Cameron LNG said it does not anticipate any disruptions to its customers. France's TotalEnergies and Japanese trading firms Mitsubishi and Mitsui are Cameron LNG's offtakers, each with a 16.6pc stake in the project. Sempra Infrastructure holds the remaining 50.2pc stake and operates the terminal. No ships were docked at Cameron LNG on Wednesday afternoon. But the Mitsui-operated 174,000m³ Marvel Phoenix departed with a 72,700t cargo earlier in the day, Kpler ship-tracking data show. The terminal has three LNG storage tanks, each with capacity of about 72,000t, giving Sempra Infrastructure flexibility to minimize loading disruptions during maintenance. Cameron LNG most recently carried out maintenance on one of its trains throughout May, when feedgas flows averaged 1.5bn ft³/d. The terminal exported 870,000t of LNG that month, down from an average of 1.2mn t/month in the previous three months. The decline was equivalent to about 1.1 fewer cargoes per week, assuming a standard cargo size of 72,000. Meanwhile, work on Cove Point LNG's pipeline system is expected to begin on 19 September, capping feedgas at 20mn ft³/d through 24 September and at 30mn ft³/d from 25 September to 2 October. The outage could remove another three cargoes from the market during that span. By Tray Swanson Feedgas flows to Cameron LNG bn ft³/d Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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