Please find a summary of some significant LNG Business news issued during January 2025.
- Global LNG market tightness was a concern in 2024 considering existing supply constraints and demand requirements mainly from Asia. For 2025 this tightness remains and could be even more challenging according to some analysts.
- Asia's total LNG imports declined in January, dropping to 24.48 million tons from a 10-month high of 25.50 million in December. The decline is largely due to a milder-than-usual winter, which has trimmed demand in China, Japan and South Korea.
- Japan executives in Davos said the country plans to increase its purchases of liquefied natural gas from the United States to diversify its supply and meet demand growth spurred by data centres and AI.
- JKM and TTF LNG prices in January were in the range of $13-15 /mmBTU.
- Europe was urged to import LNG considering that Russian gas exports via Soviet-era pipelines running through Ukraine came to a halt on New Year's Day. In addition Hammerfest plant experienced an outage due to a failure in a CO2 reinjection compressor.
- In the U.S. , Venture Global LNG received the permission to introduce natural gas into the seventh block of its Plaquemines plant in Louisiana and additionally could finish power generator repairs by the end of February, potentially clearing the way for the almost three-year commissioning of the Calcasieu Pass LNG plant to reach completion.
- As anticipated U.S. President Donald Trump, on January 20, issued an order for the U.S. to resume processing export permit applications from new liquefied natural gas projects.
- During January two new U.S. LNG projects showed progress :
- Alaska LNG, where Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) entered into an exclusive agreement with developer Glenfarne. This is a $44 billion project and will start to deliver natural gas in 2031 and LNG exports would follow shortly thereafter. It includes the LNG export facility in Nikiski and the 807-mile (1,300-km) pipeline. The pipeline will carry up to 3.3 billion cubic feet of gas per day.
- Argent LNG, which is developing a 25 million metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) LNG facility in Louisiana. ?A non-binding agreement was signed with the government of Bangladesh to purchase up to 5 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) annually.
