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,

That would take consumption to an all-time high of about 16 million barrels a day, the survey showed.

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).

Electric utilities are facing a future of increased competition, disruptive technologies, and changing customer demands.

Russia said Dec. 28 it will ban crude supplies to countries that observe the G7's $60/b price cap from Feb. 1 for five months. The retaliatory move, which applies at all stages of supply to the final buyer, had been widely flagged by Russia and expected by the global oil market.

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.

Dutch front-month futures, Europe’s gas benchmark were down 1.3% at €114 a megawatt-hour at 8:51 a.m. in Amsterdam.

Russia's war against Ukraine that started in February has exacerbated gas prices. But the excesses of the TTF had already been detected before, with rises of more than 700% in 2021.

The IEA predicts oil demand will rise by 2.3 million b/d in 2022 and by a further 1.7 million b/d in 2023, noting the contrast between strong gasoil and diesel use, especially in non-OECD economies, and weak petrochemical consumption in Europe and Asia.

Dutch front-month gas futures, a European benchmark, were 5% lower at €128 a megawatt-hour at 8:40 a.m. in Amsterdam.