Delivered LNG bunker prices have been rangebound in Rotterdam and Singapore.

Weekly changes in LNG bunker prices:

• Rotterdam down by $2/mt to $715/mt
• Singapore up by $1/mt at $684/mt

Rotterdam

Rotterdam’s delivered LNG bunker price has held broadly steady on the week, with slight downward pressure from a drop in the assessed bunker delivery premium.

The bunker delivery premium for LNG in the ARA has come off by $0.03/MMBtu ($1.78/mt) to $2.62/MMBtu ($136/mt).

The front-month Dutch TTF Natural Gas contract is down by just $0.01/MMBtu ($0.50/MMBtu) to $11.13/MMBtu ($579/mt).

Gas demand has picked up amid lower temperatures in both northwest and southern Europe, while steady supply from Norway has kept prices in check, says the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC).

“Winter is coming: Europe faced its first mini-coldspell last week, boosting up rescom gas demand by 70% in just one week and limiting storage injections,” said International Energy Agency (IEA) gas analyst Greg Molnar.

Rescom gas demand refers to the combined gas consumption in the residential and commercial sectors and is a significant driver of overall natural gas demand, particularly during colder months.

Underground EU gas storage stood at 82.32% of full capacity on 27 September, up from 81.61% a week earlier, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe data. But this was much lower than the 94.08% rate at the same time last year.

Poland has filled its gas inventories to the brim and claims the EU’s fullest tanks. The East European country has long argued for greater energy security in the EU and an earlier end to EU imports of Russian oil and gas than what is currently the block’s plan.

Singapore

Singapore’s delivered LNG bunker price has barely moved either in the past week, ticking up by just $1/mt.

A $0.09/MMBtu ($4.68/mt) increase in the bunker delivery premium has mostly been countered by a $0.07/MMBtu ($3.64/mt) decline in the front-month NYMEX Japan/Korea Marker (JKM) contract.

The bunker delivery premium is now at $97/mt, while JKM is at $588/mt.

Northeast Asian LNG demand remains weak, and inventories are well-stocked, says JOGMEC. Steady fundamentals have kept prices in check, it argues.

Other LNG bunker news

Princess Cruises took delivery of a second LNG dual-fuel cruise ship in Italy’s Monfalcone shipyard. The Star Princess will sail a roundtrip in the Mediterranean from Barcelona in October and then cross the Atlantic to sail from Fort Lauderdale in the Caribbean in November. The ship will eventually operate in Alaska during the winter cruise season there.

A group of Dutch companies has called for the Netherlands to allow mass-balancing of imported LBM and synthetic LNG via the gas grid for liquefaction at LNG terminals. The group includes LNG and liquefied biomethane (LBM) supplier Titan, the Port of Rotterdam and Van Oord.

“Without the terminal route, the Netherlands will lose supply security, price advantages, and its role as a sustainable fuel hub,” Titan said.

By Erik Hoffmann

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