LNG TANKER SHIPS ARE REROGATED FROM ASIA TO EUROPE

Five LNG cargoes are being rerouted from Asia to the EU after Russian gas supplies to Austria were cut off.

At least five cargoes of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) have been rerouted from Asian countries to the EU due to a sharp rise in prices after Gazprom stopped shipping to Austria’s OMV, Kpler data shows.

Cargoes originally destined for China, South Korea and Bangladesh are now heading to British terminals because, according to analysts, they are the least loaded among other European ones.

This is not unusual, as after Gazprom warned OMV that it intended to stop pumping, gas prices at the Dutch TTF hub increased significantly. The benchmark TTF contract traded at $14.5 per million Btu on Monday, the highest this year. The Asian benchmark JKM was trading around $14 per million Btu. December TTF gas futures are currently trading at around $520 per thousand cubic meters; in Asia they are trading at $485.

But this is another signal to all LNG buyers about the volatility of the market (and Europe is so eager to switch to LNG from the Russian pipeline). At any moment the price could rise and you will have to overpay or find out what the shortage is. In fact, data from gas operators show that supplies from the Russian Federation to the EU have not even decreased, but the price has already risen and become more attractive for sellers.

Gazprom stopped supplies to OMV after the Austrian company won a lawsuit abroad and threatened the Russian gas monopoly with a recovery of the awarded sum of 230 million euros.