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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Iran war could flip oil market into deficit: IEA
Iran war could flip oil market into deficit: IEA
London, 5 March (Argus) — Prolonged supply disruptions triggered by the US–Iran war could flip the global oil market into a deficit, the IEA said on 5 March. The Paris-based energy watchdog said it is monitoring the situation in the Middle East following the outbreak of war on 28 February, including the implications of any sustained disruption to energy flows through the strategic strait of Hormuz. It said the global oil market has been in a significant surplus since the start of 2025 and that it expected global supply to "far exceed demand in 2026". But it warned that a prolonged disruption to supply in the Mideast Gulf "could flip the market into a deficit". Traffic through the strait of Hormuz remains all but paralysed after Iran told vessels at the start of the week that they were not permitted to transit. At least eight commercial ships have since been attacked in waters around the strait. For context, the IEA said an average of 20mn b/d of crude and oil products transited the strait of Hormuz in 2025 — around 25pc of the world's seaborne oil trade. It noted that its member countries hold more than 1.2bn bl of public emergency oil stocks, with a further 600mn bl of industry stocks held under government obligation, which can be released to the market if needed. But the agency warned that any extended loss of output from Qatar's Ras Laffan facility could significantly exacerbate tightness in the global LNG market. Production was shut down there following an attack on 2 March . Ras Laffan produced 112bn m³ of LNG in 2025, along with 300,000 b/d of LPG and 180,000 b/d of condensate. By Gavin Attridge Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Drones hit airport in Azeri exclave, Baku blames Iran
Drones hit airport in Azeri exclave, Baku blames Iran
Dubai, 5 March (Argus) — An airport in Nakhichevan, an Azerbaijani exclave bordering Iran, Turkey and Armenia, came under attack by drones on 5 March, which Azerbaijan blamed on Iran. Two drones fell on the airport terminal and an area near a school, according to Azerbaijan's ministry of foreign affairs. The drones injured two people and damaged the terminal building. "Azerbaijan reserves the right to take corresponding measures," the ministry said. Azerbaijan president Ilham Aliyev visited the Iranian embassy on 4 March to express his condolences regarding the death of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian officials have in the past criticised Azerbaijan for its relations with Israel, which meets some of its crude requirements through purchases of Azeri Light crude, exported through the 1,768km Baku-Ceyhan pipeline, running through Georgia and Turkey. Turkey has a military pact with Azerbaijan, obliging it to protect the latter in case of an armed conflict. The conflict between the US, Israel and Iran has an increasingly wide footprint. A UK military base in Cyprus was hit by a drone on 1 March, a US submarine sunk an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka on 3 March, and the Turkish government on 4 March said a missile fired from Iran was shot down over its territory by Nato forces. By Elshan Aliyev Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Singapore's power prices may rise on US-Iran conflict
Singapore's power prices may rise on US-Iran conflict
Singapore, 5 March (Argus) — The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has raised global LNG prices, and may eventually raise power prices in Singapore should the conflict be prolonged, a spokesperson from Singapore government agency Energy Market Authority (EMA) said on 4 March, in response to an Argus query. Singapore's gas imports comprised 43pc piped natural gas from Malaysia and Indonesia, and 57pc LNG from different parts of the world in 2025, the EMA added. The city-state imported a total of 6.04mn t of LNG in 2025, of which close to 47pc or 2.83mn t originated from Qatar, according to data from Global Trade Tracker (GTT). But most domestic power consumers in the country will be cushioned from immediate price increases as they purchase power either through a fixed-price retail contract, or the regulated tariff from retailers and state-owned utility SP respectively, EMA said. Should the conflict in the Middle East persist over a prolonged period and fuel costs remain elevated, some consumers may see an increase in their power prices at the point of contract renewal, it added. US president Donald Trump last said on 2 March that the US is prepared for its military campaign against Iran to last 4-5 weeks . Meanwhile, state-owned QatarEnergy (QE) declared force majeure on 4 March following a halt in production of LNG and associated products to its "affected" buyers. It is not known how long the disruption to Qatari LNG production will last. EMA has established a standby LNG facility (SLF) since 2021 , which power generation firms can draw upon if gas supplies are affected. In addition, adequate fuel reserves must be maintained by power generators based on their available generation capacity. A temporary price cap mechanism, introduced in 2023, will also act as a "circuit breaker" that is activated during periods of high and sustained volatility in domestic power. Every power generation firm is also required to maintain a diesel stockpile as backup fuel. Meanwhile, the country's state-owned GasCo declined to comment on "commercial matters or market speculation". The firm was "operationally ready" to start procuring LNG by 1 January 2026, it previously said during the Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) in October 2025. The front half-month of the ANEA, the Argus assessments for spot LNG deliveries to northeast Asia, was last assessed at more than a three-year high of $24.165/mn Btu on 5 March. The front half-month ANEA was last assessed higher at $25.42/mn Btu on 3 January 2023. By Rou Urn Lee Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US court orders refunds on Trump's IEEPA tariffs
US court orders refunds on Trump's IEEPA tariffs
Washington, 4 March (Argus) — A federal court has ordered President Donald Trump's administration to begin processing refunds on tens of billions of dollars in emergency tariffs the US Supreme Court said last month were unlawful. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) must recalculate final duties owed on "any and all" imported goods without including the tariffs that Trump imposed under law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), Richard Eaton, a judge on the US Court of International Trade, wrote in a three-page decision on Wednesday. Eaton, who said he is the only judge on the court hearing IEEPA tariff refund cases, said the Supreme Court's decision that struck down Trump's emergency tariffs should provide across-the-board relief, even to those that had not filed lawsuits. Thousands of companies have already filed lawsuits seeking refunds of the IEEPA tariffs, which collected an estimated $175bn from importers during the nearly one-year period when Trump had them in effect. "All importers of record whose entries were subject to IEEPA duties are entitled to the benefit of the Learning Resources decision," Eaton wrote, referencing the name of the Supreme Court's tariff ruling. The court's order does not explicitly lay out the refund process, but instead applies to customs entries that are "unliquidated" — those that are pending — and those that are liquidated but not yet final. The order, issued as part of a tariff refund lawsuit an air filtration product company filed less than a week ago, suggests that courts intend to move quickly on refunds after the Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling finding Trump had no authority to impose his emergency tariffs. Earlier this week, a federal appeals court denied a request by the Trump administration for a months-long delay in court proceedings over tariff refunds, allowing tariff lawsuits to resume in the Court of International Trade. Trump previously said the refund process might take "years" to resolve in court. The Trump administration told Eaton this week it was still considering "next steps" for the Supreme Court opinion, including the mechanics and "scope" of refunds. As of Wednesday, CBP said it had not paid refunds on any of the IEEPA tariffs. In a court filing earlier on Wednesday, the administration conceded that it would have to also pay interest on any tariff refunds it is required to make. The cumulative interest payments on the refunded tariffs could reach $700mn each month, according to calculations the think tank Cato Institute published this week. US senator Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts), in a letter on Wednesday to administration officials, said that the Trump administration's "dithering" on tariff refunds had created an opening for those on Wall Street to offer small companies with immediate cash needs "pennies on the dollars" to purchase their tariff refund rights. Further delaying tariff refunds would result in "more pain" for US companies and their customers, he wrote. By Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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