LNG Bunker Snapshot: Prices rise on persistent Hormuz blockage

Rotterdam-Singapore price gap narrows

Slow EU gas storage refill

ING says Asia underprices Hormuz blockage

Weekly changes in LNG bunker prices:

• Rotterdam up by $49/mt to $1,006/mt
• Singapore up by $16/mt to $1,082/mt

Rotterdam

The front-month TTF gas contract has gained $0.94/MMBtu ($49/mt) on the week, coming in at $16.42/MMBtu ($854/mt) at 08.30 GMT today.

Gas prices have again rallied on the persistent Strait of Hormuz closure, which has cut off a fifth of LNG supply, ANZ Bank commodity strategist Daniel Hynes says. State-owned producer Qatar Energy has extended a force majeure until mid-June and global LNG export volumes fell to 33 million mt in April, he points out.

Some natural gas has been added to underground EU storage tanks, which are now just under 34% full, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe. That is up from 32% a week ago, but much lower than the 49% of capacity a year back.

“Refilling of European gas storages is going slow right now,” Mind Energy commented. The energy supplier says gas contracts cost more now than they will closer to the next winter, so there is little incentive to start refilling tanks at the moment.

Storage levels are particularly low in the Netherlands (11%) and Sweden (10%), the Gas Infrastructure Europe data shows.

Rotterdam’s LNG bunker price has been at persistent discounts to Singapore’s since late March. The discount has narrowed by $33/mt in the past week, to $76/mt now.

Singapore

The front-month Japan Korea Marker (JKM) contract is up by $0.31/MMBtu ($16/mt) on the week, to $16.87/MMBtu ($877/mt).

JKM has come up as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed to almost all vessel traffic.

Even if gas price benchmarks have been propped up by LNG supply losses from the Strait of Hormuz blockage, the Asian LNG market keeps underpricing the scale of the supply hit, according to LNG commodity strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey.

They point out that Asian LNG importers have few other alternatives, and if supply remains crimped, we could see demand destruction from higher prices.

Other LNG bunker news

Global LNG bunker delivery volumes declined in the first quarter, marking the first quarterly drop in three years as cold temperatures and the Middle East war pushed prices higher, consultancy Lansdowne Moritz said.

Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) has placed its first LNG dual-fuel order with 12 container vessels, while Royal Caribbean has ordered two additional LNG dual-fuel cruise ships. ADNOC Logistics and Services (ADNOC L&S) has received its sixth and final LNG dual-fuel carrier.

Japanese firm Osaka Gas has delivered its first ship-to-ship (STS) LNG bunker stem in Japan. Titan Clean Fuels, a subsidiary of Molgas, has concluded its first FuelEU Maritime pool. Its 2025 pool was verified by DNV.

By Erik Hoffmann

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