Page 11 - GLNG Week 19 2021
P. 11
GLNG ASIA GLNG
Petronas adopts AECO price
index for spot LNG sale
PROJECTS & MALAYSIA’S state-owned Petronas has sold its establishing a transparent price index in the
COMPANIES first spot shipment of LNG using the Canada LNG market that will complement both its own
Alberta Energy Company (AECO) price index. pricing diversification efforts as well as the start
The company said on May 7 that the cargo of commercial shipments of LNG from Canada
had been sold from its Bintulu LNG plant to a from 2024.
buyer in the “Far East” for delivery in August. The Royal Dutch Shell-led LNG Canada
AECO is a leading price benchmark for natu- project, in which Petronas is also a partner, is
ral gas in Canada, with Petronas describing it as expected to begin exporting cargoes to Asia by
transparent thanks to both its real-time trading then.
as well as its high liquidity, backed by large gas The CAD40bn ($33bn) project is part of
reserves. the Canadian government’s efforts to support
The state major said AECO’s introduction exports to buyers in Asia as the country seeks to
was part of its plan to include additional pricing reduce its reliance on the US market. LNG Can-
options for its customers. ada reached a final investment decision (FID) in
“With AECO, [an] LNG buyer has the flex- October 2018 for the construction of two 7mn
ibility to further diversify its price exposures tonne per year (tpy) liquefaction plants in Kiti-
from established key price indices such as Jap- mat, British Columbia.
anese Crude Cocktail (JCC), Brent, Japan Korea The impending commissioning of LNG Can-
Marker (JKM), US Henry Hub and UK National ada in 2024 has encouraged sellers to lobby for
Balancing Point (NBP),” Petronas said. a switch from S&P Global Platts’ JKM index to
Petronas believes the sale of the AECO AECO, an unnamed Singapore-based trader told
indexed spot cargo is a significant step towards Reuters last week.
MIDDLE EAST
LNG shipments from Qatar to UAE resume
POLICY REPORTS of an LNG tanker delivering its cargo UAE are also reported to have resumed. Accord-
to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from Qatar ing to Refinitiv Eikon data cited by Reuters,
illustrate the improvement in relations between Qatari condensate exports to the UAE rose to
the two Middle Eastern countries. 1.7mn barrels in April, up from 287,000 bar-
The Al Ghariya LNG tanker loaded a cargo at rels in February, the first month following the
Ras Laffan, Qatar, on May 10, and unloaded it at resumption of trade,
Jebel Ali, in the UAE, on May 13. According to Another LNG tanker, Al Gattara, that had
vessel-tracking data, the ship was on its way back loaded the super-chilled fuel from Ras Laffan
to Ras Laffan as of May 14. on May 5 had also initially signalled Jebel Ali
This marks the first Qatari LNG cargo as its destination but was diverted to Asia,
shipped to the UAE since May 2017. The UAE Reuters cited a Kpler analyst, Rebecca Chia,
and three other countries in the region – Saudi as saying. She added that both Al Ghariya
Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt – severed diplomatic and Al Gattara are on long-term charter to
relations with Qatar in mid-2017, alleging that Qatargas.
Doha supported terrorism, though Qatar denied Meanwhile, Argus Media reported separately
the charge. Relations were restored at the start of that the resumption of relations between Qatar
2021, with the countries agreeing to “fully” set and the UAE had not yet resulted in a rise in
their differences aside. demand for marine fuel at the bunkering hub
As a result, the UAE has opened up all of its of Fujairah, contrary to analyst expectations.
entry ports to Qatar, and LNG trade between the It had been anticipated that demand from the
two countries can resume. Prior to the dispute, Qatari LNG fleet would boost bunker sales by
Qatar was a regular exporter of LNG to the UAE around 2mn tonnes per year (tpy), but this has
during the summer, when gas demand for power not happened, which is being attributed to Qatar
generation increases. improving its own bunkering infrastructure dur-
Shipments of condensate from Qatar to the ing the blockade.
Week 19 14•May•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P11
