Asia spot LNG: Sep Platts Japan Korea Marker down 10 cents to $8.10/MMBtu on limited demand
The Platts JKM for September delivery decreased 10 cents over the Asian trading week to close at $8.10/MMBtu Thursday.
While firm supply and demand for September had mostly dried up towards the end of the week, fresh October offers and bids appeared at around $8.30/MMBtu and high $7s/MMBtu, respectively, Thursday.
The Platts JKM will not be assessed on Friday, August 7, and Monday, August 10, due to Singapore public holidays.
The JKM fell 10 cents to $8.10/MMBtu Wednesday, ending the eight-week rally in spot prices as sentiment turned bearish due to limited demand, sources said.
But supply concerns from the Nigeria LNG project and above-average temperature forecasts in Japan helped halt further softening in the market Thursday.
According to several market sources, one of the pipelines feeding the Nigeria LNG plant on Bonny Island had been deliberately damaged.
Although no cancellations had been reported or force majeure declared, a source pegged a repair timeline at between two to three weeks.
“There will be some cargoes that will probably be rescheduled,” a market source said.
On the demand side, most regions in Japan are expected to have warmer-than-average temperatures through September 7, the Japan Meteorological Agency said Thursday.
This could lead to more demand for inventory building ahead of winter and ease the bearish sentiment due to expected additional October availability from Indonesia’s Donggi Senoro and Tangguh, Australia’s North West Shelf and the Papua New Guinea LNG facility.
“The temperature in Japan is a bit higher than usual, so our LNG consumption has increased… We may have a chance to buy a few cargoes in October or November,” a source with a utility said.
In shipping, the 170,600 cu m Methane Patricia Camila delivered a cargo Tuesday from the Atlantic LNG export plant in Trinidad and Tobago to the Kochi terminal in Kerala in southwest India, according to Platts cFlow shiptracking software.
Elsewhere, the 165,500 cu m Magellan Spirit is expected to arrive Friday in Singapore after delivering July 30 at Pakistan’s Port Qasim.
It is reportedly under charter to Trafigura, which was awarded a tender to supply Pakistan State Oil with two July cargoes in the high $7s/MMBtu.
