U.S. pipeline company Energy Transfer LP will supply two million tonnes of LNG per annum to the Singapore unit of trading house Gunvor Group Ltd. as part of a 20-year deal announced on May 2.
The LNG will be supplied from Energy Transfer's Lake Charles project in Louisiana and first deliveries are expected to begin as early as 2026.
Gas companies have in recent months rushed to cash in on a surge in natural gas prices as Western sanctions on Russian supply jolted an already tight market.
Last month, Energy Transfer signed deals to supply a total of 2.7 million tonnes of LNG to China’s ENN Natural Gas and ENN Energy Holdings Ltd. Separately, NextDecade Corp. said on May 2 it would supply 1.75 million metric tonnes per annum of LNG to French energy group Engie SA.
Overall, analysts with Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. (TPH) viewed the announcements as constructive for LNG developers as customers are open to long-term deals. However, the analysts noted that investors should be focused on fixed toll levels given the looming oversupply, which the firm pegs at less than $2/MMBtu currently.
“Admittedly, Europe is the wild card in demand. Prior to the conflict, we’d seen Russia exporting ~13 Bcf/d in 2026 to Europe which could be up for grabs considering utilities, such as Engie, have started securing 15-year+ contracts, potentially tightening global LNG balances to the loss of Russia,” the TPH analysts wrote in a May 3 research note.
Editor’s note: Reuters contributed to this article.
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