It is unusual for European LNG prices to surpass spot LNG prices in Asia, which relies on LNG imports much more than Europe, and especially in peak winter when demand from Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan is at its highest, supporting the typical Asian premium.

The Dec. 12 LNG stocks were well above 1.42 million mt held at the end of December last year, as well as the four-year average of 1.71 million mt at the end of that month, according to METI data.

Derivatives linked to TTF, Europe’s wholesale gas price, soared as high as €131 per megawatt hour

Front-month gas futures fell 4.7 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at $3.747 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), their lowest close since Dec. 7.

Under Russian law, Gazprom is the only company currently permitted to export pipeline gas, but the government has been examining Rosneft's proposal, with a decision expected by March next year.

Storage facilities are now only 66% full, a level of depletion they would not normally reach until the middle of January in an average winter.

We expect Brent prices will average $71/b in December and $73/b in the first quarter of 2022 (1Q22). For 2022 as a whole, we expect that growth in production from OPEC+, of U.S. tight oil, and from other non-OPEC countries will outpace slowing growth in global oil consumption, especially in light of renewed concerns about COVID-19 variants. We expect Brent prices will remain near current levels in 2022, averaging $70/b.

Rosneft and gas giant Gazprom were tasked with coming to an agreement on the implementation of a "pilot" project under which Rosneft would supply 10 Bcm of Russian gas to Europe.

Aramco Gas Pipelines Co. will lease usage rights in its parent company's gas pipelines network and lease them back to Aramco for a 20-year period.

In 2018, China became the world's 2nd largest LNG importer in the world behind Japan. LNG imports amounted to 90.5 bcm in 2020 (+12%). Australia is the largest LNG supplier (44%), followed by Qatar (12%) and Malaysia (9%).

Pembina Pipeline Corp has officially cancelled its US$10bn Jordan Cove LNG terminal in Coos Bay, Oregon (United States) after the company failed to secure state-issued permits and authorizations from various Oregon state agencies.

The U.S. and some European opponents of Nord Stream 2 say it will make Europe too reliant on Russian gas, allowing Moscow to expand its political, economic and military influence. But other governments say it is vital to secure energy supplies, as gas prices surge and the threat of power outages looms.

The Company increased its gas exports to the countries beyond the FSU to 171.5 billion cubic meters, which is higher than the figure for the same period of 2020 by 6.6 per cent (or by 10.6 billion cubic meters).

A very cold winter could trigger increased gas demand for heating and power generation at a time when European gas stocks remain well below the average for the time of year and supply from Russia continues to disappoint.

Natural gas consumption increased very rapidly between 2000 and 2019 (3%/year) and then dropped by 3% in 2020 to 40 bcm.