NO. 1: Argentina’s Enarsa PDV SA has purchased eight spot LNG cargoes as it grapples with a cold snap ahead of winter in the Southern Hemisphere, which begins next month.
The buy tender closed on Tuesday with offers from Engie SA, Glencore plc, RWE AG, Trafigura Pte. Ltd., TotalEnergies SE and Vitol Inc., according to Kpler data. Enarsa purchased the cargoes for July and August delivery at a more than $1/MMBtu premium to the Dutch Title Transfer Facility price, which has been trading around $11.
The tender came at a higher price amid strong buying in Asia, where Bangladesh, India, the Philippines, South Korea and Thailand were among those in the spot market this week amid hotter weather in the region. India, in particular, has seen gas demand jump considerably year-over-year.
NO. 2: Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd. (Japex) said Thursday it would acquire a 15% stake in a unit of Jera Co. Inc., which holds a 25.7% stake in the Freeport liquefied natural gas export terminal on the upper Texas coast.
Japex said it would pay $380 million for a stake in Gulf Coast LNG Holdings LLC and a position in the 15.45 million metric tons/year export facility.
Japex said it is working to reduce its exposure to fluctuations in crude oil prices by generating a steadier stream of revenue from infrastructure and utilities. “We have been repeatedly considering entering into overseas LNG supply infrastructure projects,” the company stated.
NO. 3: Trinidad and Tobago has received six bids for oil and gas exploration in shallow water offshore, according to the country’s energy ministry.
BP plc, EOG Resources Inc. and Shell plc submitted the bids. All of the companies work in the country. BP and EOG are also reportedly in advanced discussions to develop the Coconut field off the country’s coast, which contains an estimated 1 Tcf of natural gas.
BP would integrate the assets with others it’s developing in the area. Volumes from the new field would be utilized to feed the Atlantic LNG facility. BP holds a 45% stake in Atlantic LNG.
Declining domestic production has dented output at the terminal, where one train has been offline for years due to insufficient feed gas supplies. The government is working to increase natural gas production for the facility.
