LNG Bunker Snapshot: Prices slide in Rotterdam and Singapore after Trump statement

LNG bunker prices are down with gas benchmarks in Rotterdam and Singapore amid milder weather and hopes of an end to the Iran war.

Weekly changes in LNG bunker prices:

• Rotterdam down by $161/mt to $1,047/mt
• Singapore down by $165/mt to $1,004/mt

Rotterdam

Rotterdam’s LNG bunker price has dropped by $161/mt, largely due to a 15% decline in the front-month Dutch TTF Natural Gas contract, a key benchmark for European gas prices.

The TTF price has fallen “as concerns about a prolonged war subsided,” according to the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC). Mind Energy echoed this sentiment.

JOGMEC also attributed the decline to “increased renewable energy generation and the start of the shoulder season.” A shoulder month refers to the transitional period between peak and off-peak seasons, which typically bring about milder weather and lower energy demand.

“Despite war-related disruptions… Europe remains well supplied for now, with steady LNG flows and milder demand,” said ANZ Bank’s senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes.

Meanwhile, LNG bunker activity in Rotterdam declined in February, according to market intelligence firm Kpler. In the Netherlands, activity fell to 36 bunkering operations in February, down from 43 in January. The drop was largely driven by container ships, with lower volumes from CMA CGM, Mediterranean Shipping Company and Hapag-Lloyd, .

One key factor was the reduced activity of Shell’s 18,000 cbm-capacity LNG bunker vessel K Lotus. The vessel entered drydock to assess damage after containers fell from from Hapag-Lloyd's Bangkok Express during a bunker operation in Rotterdam on 6 February. The K Lotus remained largely unavailable for the rest of the month, reducing its bunkered volume to just 5,000 cbm (around 2,200 mt).

TotalEnergies’ 18,600 cbm-capacity LNG bunker vessel Gas Agility also recorded a decline. Its bunkered volume fell by 27,000 cbm (12,000 mt) from January, with 33,000 cbm (14,800 mt) delivered in February, Kpler said.

The EU's underground gas storage was 29% full on 13 March, slipping from just under 19% a week earlier. That was 30% lower than where it was at the same time last year, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe.

Singapore

Singapore’s LNG bunker price has slid $165/mt lower over the past week, pressured down “following President Trump's statements calling for an early resolution of the conflict,” according to JOGMEC.

“Weak spot demand in Northeast Asia due to mild weather and high inventory levels caused prices to fall,” the agency noted.

LNG bunker pricing in Singapore generally follows the NYMEX Japan/Korea Marker (JKM). The front-month JKM contract dropped by $3.19/MMBtu over the week to $16.19/MMBtu ($842/mt), reinforcing the downward momentum in bunker prices.

Singapore’s LNG bunker price, which was at a $39/mt discount to Rotterdam's a week ago, is now at a slightly wider $43/mt discount.

Singapore's LNG bunker sales rebounded in February. They rose by 39% after declining for three consecutive months. Average daily LNG sales increased by about 700 mt on the month to 2,100 mt. For the January–February period, total LNG sales reached nearly 102,000 mt, up from 63,000 mt during the same period last year.

Other LNG bunker news

Japanese utility company Osaka Gas plans to begin ship-to-ship (STS) LNG bunker operations in Japan next month using its newly built LNG bunker vessel Seto Azure.

Taiwanese shipping company Yang Ming has announced it will order six LNG dual-fuel container vessels.

Energy supplier Axpo said it will deploy a vessel for physical LNG bunker deliveries along the southern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.

Tanker operator AET has completed its first liquefied biomethane (LBM) trial on a dual-fuel Aframax vessel.

By Tuhin Roy

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