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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Australia’s Pilbara shuts LNG, iron ore ports on storm
Australia’s Pilbara shuts LNG, iron ore ports on storm
Sydney, 6 February (Argus) — Australian port authority Pilbara Ports will clear all berths at the Ports of Ashburton, Cape Preston West, Dampier, and Varanus Island by 4pm local time (8am GMT) on 6 February, while Port Hedland will be closed by 9.30pm local time, it said today. Pilbara Ports will move ships out of the ports, which handle LNG and iron ore exports, because of the fast-developing Tropical Low 21U storm, it added. The port authority moved the export hubs into Cyclone Alert 2 earlier this week, market participants told Argus on 5 February. Tropical Low 21U is currently hovering off the coast of Western Australia's (WA) Kimberley region, according to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM). It is likely to develop into a cyclone by 8am local time on 7 February, as it moves south towards WA's iron ore-rich Pilbara region, BoM forecasts show. The weather system may pass close to Dampier early on 8 February. Producers shipped 1.4mn t of LNG out of Dampier port in December, down by 12pc on the year, and 15mn t of iron ore , up by 9pc on the year. Pilbara Ports' other export hubs handled 52mn t of iron ore in December. WA ports have faced weather disruptions before. Four cyclones lashed Pilbara in January-February 2025, pushing down producer BHP and Rio Tinto's WA iron ore sales in the first quarter of 2025. Cyclone Sean flooded a railcar dumper at Rio Tinto's East Intercourse Island (EEI) facility at Dampier on 20 January 2025, halting loadings at the site until early March. But Rio Tinto continued to move ore out of other WA facilities over that period. By Avinash Govind Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Rotterdam biomarine 2025 sales fall as bio‑LNG surges
Rotterdam biomarine 2025 sales fall as bio‑LNG surges
London, 5 February (Argus) — Marine biodiesel sales fell on the year in Rotterdam in 2025, but bio-LNG and biomethanol made sharp gains while conventional bunker fuels were roughly steady. Marine biodiesel blend sales fell by 16pc to 629,700t in 2025 from 2024, according to data from the Port of Rotterdam. Sales declined by 18pc in the fourth quarter from the third quarter. Data from the Port of Singapore, on the other hand, showed strong growth in blend sales, with marine biodiesel sales higher by 56pc year-on-year in 2025. This was driven by higher uptake of B24, B30 and B100 used to meet FuelEU Maritime requirements, which came into effect in 2025 and require ships coming in, out of, and operating within EU waters to reduce emissions. Rotterdam sales fell due to more competitive pricing east of Suez, pulling demand towards Singapore. B24 Ucome dob Singapore prices averaged $685.71/t in 2025, compared with $797.23/t for B30 Ucome dob ARA. Shipowners bunkering marine biodiesel in Singapore for EU-bound voyages can use it for FuelEU Maritime compliance. Energy used on voyages between EU and EEA ports and non-EU ports has a 50pc share of regulatory coverage, and full coverage for voyages intra-EU. Compliance generated from bunkering marine biodiesel in Singapore can then be used to achieve compliance on vessels operating European routes, via the pooling mechanism, in which obligated companies can combine their compliance balance with other vessels. This has driven an emerging FuelEU compliance surplus market, where participants can buy compliance via pooling to avoid physical bunkering of alternative marine fuels. For use of bio-LNG, over-compliance has sold at a significant premium to cost. As a result, bio-LNG bunker sales in Rotterdam jumped by more than 500pc on the year to 17,650m³ in 2025 on strong demand , and by 1,975pc on the year in the fourth quarter. Biomethanol sales rose by 200pc on the year to 11,800t in 2025, also supported by FuelEU Maritime and an increase in the number of methanol-capable vessels coming into operation — 60 methanol-capable vessels were in operation or on order in 2025, according to DNV data, compared with 17 in 2024. Sales of conventional bunker fuels in Rotterdam in 2025 were largely stable, up by 1pc on the year to 8.73mn t. But ultra-low sulphur fuel oil (ULSFO) sales rose by 16pc on the year, to the highest since 2021, as demand rose to reflect stricter requirements after the Mediterranean was designated an emissions control area (ECA) by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in May. Vessels transiting the sea are limited to emitting 0.1pc sulphur. The sulphur emission limits of the ECA in the Mediterranean also contributed to firmer demand for marine gasoil (MGO) and marine diesel oil (MDO). Sales of the products at Rotterdam were up 7pc on the year while fourth quarter sales were unchanged on the year but up by 4pc on the quarter. MGO-based marine biodiesel blends firmed to record highs of 93,200t in 2025, supported by the ECA expansion. But European decarbonisation and regulations — such as EU ETS expansion, FuelEU Maritime, and RED III — made very-low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) less attractive for shipowners that are seeking ECA-compliant 0.1pc sulphur fuels such as ULSFO or marine gasoil. VLSFO sales fell by 7pc on the year in 2025 while fourth quarter VLSFO sales were down 8pc on the year but up 17pc quarter on quarter. The increase in scrubber-fitted vessels continued to support sales of high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) at Rotterdam, which increased 3pc on the year. HSFO sales at the port in the fourth quarter were up by 3pc on the year but down by 8pc on the quarter. By Hussein Al-Khalisy and Siew Hua Seah. Rotterdam bunker sales t Fuel 2025 2024 y-o-y % 4Q 2025 3Q 2025 q-o-q % 4Q 2024 y-o-y % ULSFO 864,782 748,186 16% 219,039 232,720 -6% 193,567 13% VLSFO 2,850,083 3,076,817 -7% 745,786 635,638 17% 810,831 -8% HSFO 3,420,908 3,330,327 3% 804,962 872,077 -8% 780,437 3% MGO/MDO 1,590,902 1,483,332 7% 402,781 387,173 4% 395,903 2% Conventional total 8,726,675 8,638,662 1% 2,172,568 2,127,608 2% 2,180,738 -0% Biofuels blends 629,706 752,103 -16% 161,934 198,515 -18% 118,201 37% LNG (m³) 992,911 941,366 5% 192,433 331,620 -42% 263,068 -27% Bio-LNG (m³) 17,644 2,775 536% 11,932 960 92% 575 1975% Biomethanol 11,819 3,946 200% na na na 930 na Port of Rotterdam Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Europe needs to 'improvise when buying term LNG'
Europe needs to 'improvise when buying term LNG'
Doha, 4 February (Argus) — European buyers may have to take a more innovative approach to procuring LNG, in terms of being more flexible over longer contractual periods and exploring financing alternatives, panel members said at the LNG2026 conference in Doha. Europe is due for a mindset shift on how regional buyers agree medium to long-term LNG contracts, because such deals provide more supply certainty for a country. This allows firms to work on their domestic customer bases, the chief executive of Swiss trading firm MET, Huibert Vigeveno, said. And Europe has the infrastructure, which at present may only be well used at certain times of the year. Facilities should cater for cyclical and seasonal changes. Procurement plans should be able to balance between spot, medium and long-term supply deals, the chief executive of German state-run Sefe, Egbert Laege, said. Outdated financing methods Panellists also pointed out that financing options in LNG and associated upstream gas agreements are outdated. LNG will never compete on cost with piped gas, the chief executive of trading firm Trafigura, Richard Holtum, said. Europe has now built the infrastructure for LNG so it has solved its security of supply issue, but only to swap it for a price issue, he said. US LNG developers will receive bank financing only when they show that 80-90pc of their capacity is sold on a long-term basis, Holtum said. Financial institutions 10 years ago would base their financing of oil exploration projects on prevailing price forecasts, he pointed out. "I thought, fast forward to date, developers and financers of LNG projects would now adopt a similar method, but we are not there yet, and it does not seem like we are moving there," he noted. "It is understandable that European buyers want to have [a degree of] exposure to the region's gas prices," Holtum added. But a long-term contract priced on the Dutch TTF gas hub does not lower the risk of market volatility. And domestic consumers do not want their gas portfolios exposed to a foreign index, for example the US' Henry Hub, he commented. Innovation in financing LNG projects could come from firms capitalising on their experience in the industry by placing an inherent value on LNG, as there is with crude, he concluded. By Irfan Jaafar Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Japan eyes Qatar for emergency LNG supply
Japan eyes Qatar for emergency LNG supply
Osaka, 4 February (Argus) — Japan's trade and industry ministry Meti on 3 February signed a non-binding initial agreement with the country's largest power producer Jera and state-owned QatarEnergy (QE) to establish a trilateral co-operation framework enabling the supply of additional LNG cargoes during emergency situations. The deal allows Meti to request QE to consider supplying additional LNG to Japanese buyers, including Jera, if tight global LNG markets or large-scale domestic disruptions threaten Japan's energy stability. The parties will then consult on appropriate response measures. Qatar, one of the world's largest LNG producers, has been a key supplier to Japanese utilities for nearly three decades. It provided emergency LNG cargoes to Japan following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 to help mitigate the impact of nuclear reactor shutdowns — an experience that helped shape the new framework, Jera said. These potential buffer LNG volumes from Qatar are in addition to a recent 3mn t/yr long-term contract signed by Jera and QE. The firms signed a 27-year supply agreement on 3 February to buy up to 3mn t/yr of LNG from 2028. The LNG will be supplied on a delivered ex-ship (des) basis, likely from the 16mn t/yr North Field South expansion, which is due to start production in 2027. Jera has declined to comment on the price formula and destination flexibility. Jera also currently holds a term contract with state-owned Qatargas to purchase 700,000 t/yr of LNG through 2028. This deal was originally signed in 2012 by Jera's 50pc shareholder Chubu Electric Power for 15 years, covering 1mn t/yr from 2013-17 and 700,000 t/yr for 2018-28. The company used to have a term contract for 5.5mn t/yr from Qatar, which expired in December 2021. Japan received 3.4mn t of LNG from Qatar in 2025, which accounted for 5.3pc of the country's total imports, according to data from the finance ministry. This is down from 18.4pc in 2013. Jera is gearing up to build an LNG portfolio that exceeds its downstream obligations, because underestimating demand and being forced to buy spot cargoes would pose a greater risk. The company aims to maintain its LNG handling volumes at no less than 35mn t/yr with diversified supply sources until the April 2035-March 2036 fiscal year. It signed multiple deals for 5.5mn t/yr of US LNG in 2025, with some of these deals extending to 2050. LNG could continue playing a vital role in ensuring stable electricity supplies in Japan, even during energy transition toward the 2050 net-zero emissions goal, because the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence would boost power demand. Renewable capacity is expected to increase, but weather-dependent solar and wind output still require back-up thermal capacity. It is also unclear how many nuclear reactors will return over the next decade. By Motoko Hasegawa Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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