Page 5 - GLNG Week 18 2022
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GLNG COMMENTARY GLNG
from a Chinese shipyard following an April 2020
agreement with Hudong to reserve ship con- with the majority of cargoes destined for Asia.
struction capacity. Despite US and European lobbying, eastward
flows are likely to continue.
More sales Last year, QatarEnergy signed nine deals cov-
The new tankers will come in useful as Qatari ering the delivery of more than 196mn tonnes
LNG attracts interest the world over. Since being of LNG to Asian countries at a combined rate
overtaken by Australia then the US as the top of 16mn tonnes per year (mmtpy), kicking off
LNG exporter globally, Doha has attracted the between the end of 2021 and 2024 and running
attention of Western governments as a potential for a maximum of 20 years.
long-term alterative to piped supplies from Rus- For comparison, the EU imported 155bn
sia. Calls for more Qatari LNG have intensified cubic metres (bcm) of Russian gas in 2021,
Qatar’s Energy Minister and President and equivalent to 114mn tonnes of LNG and more
CEO of QatarEnergy HE Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi than Qatar’s total capacity following the comple-
said in February that it would be impossible for tion of NFE. Displacing Russian gas in its entirety
any one country to replace Russian gas, which is clearly not a feasible pursuit and while the EU
accounts for 30-40% of European supplies, but votes this week on whether or not to implement
increased capacity may offer some flexibility. such a move, increasing political scrutiny is only
Qatari LNG is mainly sold under long-term likely maintain pressure on prices, to the benefit
contracts and only around 10-15% of the total of Qatar. Its expansion could hardly have been
volume could currently be diverted to Europe, better-timed.
Week 18 06•May•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P5
