Rotterdam’s LNG bunker price has eased on steady supply, while Singapore’s price has dropped due to subdued demand in the broader Asian LNG market.

Weekly changes in LNG bunker prices:

• Rotterdam down by $18/mt to $695/mt
• Singapore down by $16/mt at $684/mt

Rotterdam

Rotterdam’s LNG bunker price has fallen by $18/mt, mainly because of a 4% drop in the front-month Dutch TTF Natural Gas contract, a key benchmark for European gas prices.

The TTF price has weakened due to “strong supply from Norway” and “mild weather and increased LNG imports,” according to the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC).

“Ample European supply and reports of rising Russian LNG supply were behind the price falls,” added Mind Energy, formerly Energi Danmark.

EU underground gas storage stood at 77.1% as of 29 August, up from 75.3% the previous week, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe.

“European natural gas [price] fell … as the risk of supply shortages over the coming heating season continues to fall. Europe is heading into the winter better prepared than predicted a few months ago,” said Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ Bank.

Singapore

Singapore’s LNG bunker price has declined for the fourth straight week, settling at $684/mt. Asian LNG bunker prices usually track the NYMEX Japan/Korea Marker (JKM), which has dropped by $0.33/MMBtu over the past week, pushing the front-month contract down to $11.22/MMBtu ($583/mt).

The decline was driven by “no significant change in the low demand and ample supply situation,” according to JOGMEC.

“China's LNG imports are still weak… China’s LNG demand has been soft this year, mostly due to strong flows of piped gas from Russia and Central Asia, as well as rising domestic production,” said Stephen Stapczynski, Energy Asia team leader at Bloomberg News.

As of 27 August, LNG inventories for power generation in Japan reached 2.18 million mt, an increase of 160,000 mt from the previous week, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).

US-sanctioned Russian LNG also arrived in China for the first time. The tanker Arctic Mulan, carrying fuel from the blacklisted Arctic LNG 2 plant in Russia, landed at the Beihai terminal, Stapczynski added.

“Some traders are assuming that there could be some breakthrough in Russia’s ability to sell cargoes, which would ease global competition for the fuel. This also dragged North Asia LNG prices lower,” Hynes said.

Meanwhile, the price discount to Rotterdam stayed relatively steady during the week, narrowing from $13/mt to $11/mt.

Other LNG bunker news

Finnish state-owned energy company Gasum has carried out its first LNG bunkering at Finland’s Port of Tolkkinen. Shipping company Viking Line has started operating two vessels on bio-LNG to generate surplus compliance under Gasum’s FuelEU pooling scheme. From this month, Gasum’s LNG bunkering vessel Coralius will also run fully on bio-LNG.

By Tuhin Roy

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