The Bundesnetzagentur on Nov. 16 suspended the procedure to certify Nord Stream 2 AG as an independent transmission operator while the company transferred assets to the German subsidiary to take over the application.

China’s LNG imports have grown steadily every year since 2006 (when China began importing LNG), except in 2015. In 2017, China became the world’s second-largest LNG importer, surpassing South Korea.

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 4.6 million barrels from the previous week to 428.3 million barrels.

Under the agreement, BP will provide SPIC Guangdong Co. with pipeline gas sourced from the LNG receiving terminal of Guangdong Dapeng Liquefied Natural Gas Co.

The programme includes €6.9bn of state funding, and €9.5bn of private investments.

Specifically, the daily amount of gas exports was significantly increased in November and December under the mutually beneficial arrangements between Gazprom and CNPC as compared with the schedule for 2021 that had been approved earlier.

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.

World oil demand is kept unchanged compared to last month’s assessment, showing a growth of 5.7 mb/d in 2021.

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.

Iraq's OPEC+ quota rose to 4.193 million b/d last month, from 4.149 million b/d in October, as the coalition continued to raise production caps.

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 0.2 million barrels from the previous week to 432.9 million barrels.

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.

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.