MILAN: Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices for August delivery continued to slide as Japanese demand evaporated and stocks across the region rose.
Major new supply tenders also kept up pressure on prices.
The price of Asian spot cargoes slid to $7.30 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), compared with around $7.40 per mmBtu last week.
The world's top LNG consumers, Japanese utilities, largely expected to avoid spot buying until winter at least. Terminal stocks were near tank-top levels and gas demand was sapped by mild temperatures and competing power-generation sources, industry sources said.
Many expect to take as little as possible in their long-term contracts next year, to cope with the glut.
Korea Gas Corp. was set to remain on the sidelines, predicting full inventories by the third-quarter.
Indonesia launched a major tender offering 8-12 LNG cargoes from its Bontang export plant, with more supply available later in the year.
Its Tangguh export plant launched a tender to sell three cargoes across July and August, while Australia's North West Shelf plant offered cargoes, one of which via BHP Billiton.
Jordan purchased one LNG cargo from Vitol for August delivery priced at $7.35 per mmBtu, cheaper than expected, potentially due to a high turnout of offers.
Pakistan is to award its four-cargo buy tender soon, amid another high turnout.
Vitol and Trafigura have bid for the first cargo slots, which may fetch the highest price due to operational and new counterparty risks, a trader said. Glencore and others are also involved, traders said.
Abu Dhabi's LNG export plant awarded a potential partial cargo loading July 11-13 from the Adgas plant, likely to an oil major.
Shell, Gazprom and Marubeni picked up four offered cargoes from Russia's Sakhalin II project.
Noble Group won a closed tender to deliver one cargo to Egypt in late June, fending off competition from Vitol and Trafigura, the only other players in the tender.
Various Indian procurement tenders are active, including Gail, seeking several cargoes.
PetroChina won a cargo offered by the ConocoPhillips-operated Darwin plant in Australia, paying around $7.40 per mmBtu on a free-on-board basis.
ExxonMobil's Papua New Guinea LNG export plant likely awarded a tender to sell an end-July loading cargo.
A Chinese oil major was seeking a July cargo, which others identified as PetroChina, but this could not be confirmed.
Independent Chinese buyers sought cargoes for July but traders were reluctant to strike deals owing to non-delivery risks. Chinese independents find out if they can discharge a cargo only after finalising the purchase- an uncertainty that led to at least one cancelled deliver recently.
Trafigura bought a Nigeria LNG cargo in a tender, and then unwound a position to load a cargo from the Gate terminal in the Netherlands, traders said.
Europe's Gate terminal has a loading slot available in late June, two in July and some in August.- Reuters
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