Oil & Energy
Asia LNG Demand Holds Firm as Europe Imports Hit Multi-Year Low, US Exports Rebound, Vortexa Says
Asia's LNG demand remained resilient as US exports recovered, European imports weakened, and Qatar continued lifting shipments despite ongoing Middle East tensions, Vortexa said Monday in its LNG Weekly.Asia imported 5.1 million metric tons of LNG across 82 cargoes last week, slightly above its four-week average as warmer temperatures continued supporting gas demand for cooling, Vortexa said.China led regional buying with 1.6 million mt across 25 cargoes, marking its strongest weekly imports since January. The country also received only its second Qatari cargo since March aboard the Al Daayen vessel, Vortexa added.Japan imported 1 million mt through 16 cargoes, slightly below its recent average as utilities rebuilt inventories. India received 700,000 mt in 11 cargoes, while Pakistan imported another 100,000 mt Qatari cargo.Asian spot LNG traded at a premium of $2.1 per million British thermal units over the Northwest Europe DES benchmark last week, down $0.2 over the week, the report said.Europe imported 1.4 million mt across 30 cargoes, the weakest weekly total since summer 2024. A surge in gas consumption to meet electricity demand for cooling slowed injections into storage, while the backwardated TTF summer-winter spread also discouraged stockpiling.France imported only 100,000 mt in two cargoes, its weakest weekly intake in almost three years, despite lower nuclear generation. Poland received no LNG cargoes for the first time in 12 months, while Spain's 100,000 mt marked a year-to-date low, according to Vortexa.European Union gas storage ended the week 48% full, almost 15 percentage points below the five-year average. LNG send-out averaged around 3,500 gigawatt-hours per day, broadly matching the four-week average, Vortexa said.A total of 14 LNG carriers crossed the Strait of Hormuz last week, including 10 ballast vessels sailing toward Qatar and four laden outbound ships as QatarEnergy continued increasing export activity, Vortexa added.Qatar's Ras Laffan terminal loaded more than 15% of its pre-war export level during June, the highest rate since the US-Iran conflict began. Five cargoes totaling 400,000 mt departed last week.The BP (BP) controlled Patris and QatarEnergy's Bu Samra crossed Hormuz with AIS transmissions active, while QatarEnergy's Al Hamla and Adnoc's Mraweh sailed without signals before Mraweh resumed transmissions near India's west coast, according to the note.The UAE loaded two cargoes totaling 100,000 mt onto the Mraweh and Umm Al Ashtan vessels. Umm Al Ashtan resumed AIS transmissions near Das Island on June 24 after remaining dark since June 12.US LNG exports climbed to 2.9 million mt across 41 cargoes last week, about 15% above the four-week average as the Freeport terminal increased loadings and the Cameron terminal returned to its pre-outage loading pace, Vortexa said.Freeport loaded six cargoes totaling 400,000 mt, while Cameron shipped five cargoes totaling 300,000 mt. Golden Pass also exported its third-ever cargo after a seven-week pause, with Italy as the destination.Australia exported 1.7 million mt through 25 cargoes, almost 10% above its four-week average even as maintenance work kept the Prelude FLNG terminal offline. Trinidad and Tobago also raised its exports to 200,000 mt across three cargoes, according to Vortexa.Russia's Arctic Express loaded sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 volumes from the Saam floating storage unit near Murmansk between June 26 and June 28 before sailing toward China's Beihai terminal via the Cape of Good Hope, the report said.Beihai received three more Arctic LNG 2 cargoes totaling 200,000 mt ast week, including shipments aboard Kosmos and Orion. The terminal operated near its 6 million tons per year capacity during June, Vortexa added.Russia also resumed seasonal shipments via the Northern Sea Route. Chris de Margerie departed with its second post-winter Arctic LNG 2 cargo, while Eduard Toll began Yamal LNG's eastbound season about 10 days later than in 2025.Yamal LNG has delivered about 95% of its 2026 shipments to Europe, compared with roughly 70% to 80% in previous years, highlighting a significant shift in export flows, according to Vortexa.Price: $37.15, Change: $-0.20, Percent Change: -0.55%
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