UK books first April LNG cargo

The United Kingdom has booked its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo for April, extending the recent rise in imports of the chilled fuel.

The 266,000-cbm Q-Max LNG tanker Rasheeda is expected to arrive at the UK’s South Hook LNG terminal on April 2 from Qatar, according to the Milford Haven Port Authority data.

LNG deliveries to the UK and South Hook have picked up in the first quarter of this year as compared to the fourth quarter of 2016 when high prices in Asia diverted LNG cargoes from the European market.

LNG imports into the UK over the last three months in 2016 dropped 67 percent. The drop was driven by high Northeast Asia demand for Qatari LNG following the temporary shutdown of a number of nuclear facilities across the region coinciding with the start of the peak winter demand, according to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.

According to the shipping data, at least five LNG tankers are currently heading to the UK.

Gas supply from the South Hook LNG terminal to the UK’s national grid was around 24.08 mcm/day on Monday morning, the latest National Grid data shows.

Brtish front-month April natural gas prices traded at 38.44 pence/therm on Monday morning, with Summer 17 and Winter 17 at 38.60 p/th and 45.10 p/th, respectively.

LNG World News Staff