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Miller did not disclose a timeframe for realising may have been cancelled for loading in August.
these projects. The pipeline through Mongolia, However, some trade sources cited by Reuters
known as Power of Siberia 2, enjoys strong polit- last week have suggested that loading a cargo in
ical support from Moscow. But it is still at the August might make more sense compared with
study phase, and it could be many years before June and July. This is because there is a price
Russia and China agree a supply contract to contango between August and forward months,
underpin its construction, if ever. while shipping rates are low.
Uzbekistan is making progress on several In the short term, the gas price differentials
fronts in its energy sector. It has struck a prelim- between Europe and the US are expected to
inary deal with a group of Russian investors for remain unfavourable for US producers. And the
the construction of a 1.5-GW gas-fired power Australian government also anticipated LNG
plant that would supply both domestic and spot prices to weaken further, with this having a
Afghan electricity users. It has also launched a negative impact on the country’s exports.
$300mn modernisation programme at one of its This comes as Australia continues to compete
two main refineries, aimed at bringing the qual- with Qatar for the top spot in global LNG exports
ity of the plant’s fuel to Europe standards. – with the US having become the third-largest
exporter of the fuel in 2019.
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
the former Soviet Union’s oil and gas sector then please If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
click here for NewsBase’s FSU Monitor . the global LNG sector then please click here for
NewsBase’s GLNG Monitor .
COVID-19 weighs on LNG exports
LNG exports are slumping as a result of Latin America still coping with COVID-19
lower demand globally amid the coronavirus Both Argentina and Colombia are facing the
(COVID-19) pandemic, and the outlook for the problem of how to cope with lower crude oil
coming months remains bearish. prices and weaker energy demand.
This week, Australia’s government esti- With respect to Colombia, a high-ranking
mated that the country’s export earnings from representative of Fitch Ratings says he expects
LNG would drop by 26% year on year (y/y) to fallout from the oil price crash and the corona-
AUD35bn ($24bn), in the coming financial year, virus (COVID-19) pandemic to act as a drag on
which runs July 2020-June 2021. the economy for at least two or three years.
Meanwhile, the US Energy Information The ratings agency has predicted that the coun-
Administration (EIA) reported last week that try’s GDP will contract by at least 4.5%, and it
US LNG exports had declined by more than half may revise that figure upward soon.
in 2020 so far. Citing data from consultancy IHS In Argentina, the national oil company
Markit, the EIA said gas deliveries to US lique- (NOC) YPF has issued a declaration of force
faction terminals had reached a record high of majeure, saying it is unable to pay the Belgian
9.8bn cubic feet (278mn cubic metres) per day in company Exmar for services performed since
March, but fell to less than 4.0 bcf (113 mcm) per mid-March because of the pandemic. Exmar –
day in June. Meanwhile, more than 70 cargoes the operator of Tango LNG, the floating facility
are estimated to have been cancelled for loading that is the only working gas liquefaction plant
from US LNG plants in June and July, and the in the country – has responded to this move by
latest media reports suggest that 40-45 cargoes describing it as illegal.

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 26 01•July•2020