Despite the adoption of the Versailles Declaration in March 2022, when leaders of the 27 EU member states pledged to phase out the EU’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels as soon as possible, imports of Russian LNG increased by 12% in 2022 compared to 2021.

According to the EU-US announcement, EU commission aims to increase annual demand for American LNG by 50BCM by the end of 2030 and procure 15BCM more in 2022,

China's LPG imports over January-November 2022 rose 7% on the year to 24.2 million mt, led by supply from the US, the UAE, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, customs data showed.

LNG deliveries to Europe have helped ease an energy crisis this winter after Russian piped supply slumped.

Norway has pledged to do as much as it can to boost gas deliveries to Europe to help counter record high gas prices triggered by the war in Ukraine and much lower Russian supplies.

Dutch front-month futures, the European benchmark, rose 4.3% to €72.50 a megawatt-hour at 8:55 a.m. in Amsterdam. The UK equivalent contract was 7.1% higher.

Germany exported around 501 TWh of natural gas in 2022 (749 TWh in 2021). As a result, at 948 TWh, more natural gas was available in Germany in 2022 than in 2021 (902 TWh).

The Worldwide Rig Count for December was 1,834, down 56 from the 1,890 counted in November 2022,and up 271, from the 1,563 counted in December 2021.

Dutch front-month futures, the European gas benchmark traded 2% higher at to €66.30 per megawatt-hour by 12 p.m. in Amsterdam. The UK equivalent contract also rose. German power for next month increased 2.3% to €166 per megawatt-hour.

The deals come as Japan’s government is reevaluating how it can enhance energy security in the face of a fuel crunch at home. Global LNG supply is slated to remain tight for years, which threatens to increase import costs and add to rising inflation.