LNG
Overview
LNG's role as a key feedstock is well established as it helps manage both input costs and carbon emissions. Heavy industrial users' drive to achieve net zero targets has added a new dimension to how and where it is being deployed. Overall, its use is expected to increase and is tipped to become the strongest-growing fossil fuel.
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Latest LNG news
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Trump withdraws EU, UK tariff threat
Trump withdraws EU, UK tariff threat
Washington, 21 January (Argus) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday he will not proceed with plans to impose a 10pc tariff on imports from the UK and seven EU members over their position on US ownership of Greenland, averting a possible tariff war with Europe. Trump, writing via his social media platform, explained his decision by having reached the "framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region." Trump is in Davos, Switzerland, where he met with Nato secretary general Mark Rutte and delivered a rambling speech to explain his motivation for trying to annex Denmark's Greenland territory. Trump and the White House did not provide details of a possible deal. Trump on 17 January threatened to impose an additional 10pc tariff on US imports from the UK, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. Those countries pushed back on his Greenland plans and sent a military mission to the Arctic island to examine its security needs. Trump also said he tasked vice president JD Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio and special presidential envoy Steve Witkoff with negotiating the placement of the so-called Golden Dome missile defense network in Greenland. Trump's threats to annex Greenland and to impose tariffs on European countries that pushed back against his plans sent US stock and financial markets lower on Tuesday, out of concern that a tariff war may erupt between the US and the EU. The European parliament was preparing to freeze work on implementing laws for the EU-US trade deal agreed to last summer. Stock and financial markets bounced back after Trump earlier Wednesday appeared to have ruled out the use of military force to take over Greenland, with further gains after he said he would not proceed with tariffs. By Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
CEE may struggle to fully rebuild gas stocks in summer
CEE may struggle to fully rebuild gas stocks in summer
London, 21 January (Argus) — Central and eastern Europe's underground gas stocks are on track to enter this summer significantly lower than a year earlier, and the region may struggle to boost imports enough to erode the deficit by next winter. Stocks in Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia were at a combined 182TWh on Tuesday morning, 28TWh lower than a year earlier and the lowest for the day since 2022, according to GIE transparency platform data ( see stocks graph ). Sites in these countries were 54.4pc full in aggregate. The largest year-on-year deficit was in Austria at 15.3TWh, followed by Hungary at 7TWh and Slovakia at 5.8TWh. This more than offset a small year-on-year surplus in Romania, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria. Stocks in northwest Europe were even lower in percentage terms. Combined EU stocks, excluding the central and eastern European countries listed above, were at 380TWh on Tuesday morning, 102TWh lower than a year earlier and at 46.7pc of capacity. Cold weather has boosted heating-related demand across Europe in recent weeks and led firms to draw heavily on storage. Even if the stockdraw on 20 January-31 March is in line with the same period in 2025 — keeping the year-on-year deficit stable — central and southeast Europe would end March with 95.7TWh in storage. This would be the second lowest for the date in the last seven years, behind only 2022. Ukraine bucks the trend of other countries in the region. The country's storage sites held 70.02TWh, around 28TWh higher than a year earlier. Strong imports have helped to keep stocks higher, helping Ukraine to avoid a situation in which withdrawal capacity is constrained near the end of the season. Summer supply limitations Congestion on west-to-east routes may make it difficult for firms to significantly ramp up imports to central and eastern Europe this summer in order to rebuild stocks. Firms already ramped up deliveries at western borders last year to replace Russian gas previously shipped through Ukraine, following the Ukraine transit halt at the end of 2024. West-to-east bottlenecks will cap how much more supply can be shipped east, while projects to deliver new supply to the region will only make a limited contribution. Net Austrian imports from Germany at Oberkappel surged to 190 GWh/d in 2025 from 10.2 GWh/d in 2024 and were near technical capacity almost all summer. And Austria net imported 31 GWh/d from Italy last year, reversed from 154 GWh/d of net exports in 2024 when Austria was still acting as a transit market for Russian gas. Flows to the Czech Republic from Germany at VIP Brandov similarly rose to 251 GWh/d in 2025 from 97 GWh/d in 2024, and were maximised for most of the summer. Some projects to bring new supply to southeast Europe were commissioned last year, which may deliver incremental supply this summer. The 4.3mn t/yr Alexandroupolis LNG terminal in Greece came on line in October 2025 but is scheduled for maintenance in the second quarter. This may limit imports through Greece and increase competition for alternative supply in the region. This could also cap the extent to which Ukraine can import from Greece using the integrated Route 1, 2 and 3 products . The other upgrade was at Croatia's Krk LNG terminal, where regasification capacity increased to 4.7mn t/yr from October 2025 from 2.3mn t/yr previously. And Azeri transport capacity through the trans-Adriatic pipeline rose by 1.2bn m³/yr to 11.2bn m³/yr from 1 January, although some of this supply will be for other markets — Azeri state-owned Socar started delivering gas to Germany and Austria this month. Hungarian state-owned utility MVM also signed 2.05bn m³/yr of supply LNG deals in recent months aimed at diversifying its import options. By Victoria Dovgal CEE stocks 2022-26 TWh CEE gas stocks, 2026 vs 2025 TWh NWE and SEE stocks, 2026 vs 2025 TWh Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
New Zealand sets election for 7 November
New Zealand sets election for 7 November
Sydney, 21 January (Argus) — New Zealand will hold its 2026 General Election on 7 November, prime minister Christopher Luxon announced on 21 January, marking the start of a campaign season in which parties may debate gas exploration bans. New Zealand's conservative, National Party-led coalition overturned a 2018 ban on offshore oil and gas exploration in September 2025 , after campaigning on the issue at the 2023 election. The government removed the ban to deal with the energy security challenges posed by rapidly declining natural gas reserves, New Zealand's resources minister Shane Jones said in June 2024, when announcing plans to overturn the ban. The centre-left Labour Party that introduced the ban has pledged to reinstate it and focus on renewable energy projects if elected. The Labour Party is opposed to the removal of the ban on new oil and gas exploration offshore and would reinstate it again, Labour leader Chris Hipkins said in a radio interview with Newstalk ZB on 27 August 2025. Labour's potential governing partners — the left-leaning Green Party and indigenous rights-focused Te Pāti Māori — have similarly opposed the restart of oil and gas exploration. "A Green Government will reinstate the oil and gas ban and revoke any permits granted under the current fossil fuel-obsessed regime," Green Party co-leader Chloe Swarbrick said on 24 September 2025. "Te Pāti Māori believes that the only way forward is to ban seabed mining permits nationwide, withdraw existing permits and introduce a national Māori strategy for renewable energy," Te Pāti Māori's co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said on 25 September 2025. New Zealand's electoral system favours coalition governments, and a single-party government has only occurred once since 1996. The Labour party led a majority government in 2020-23. New Zealand's gas output fell on the year for the eighth straight quarter in July-September 2025, the latest data from the country's ministry of business, innovation, and employment show. New Zealand's gas-fired generation fell over the same period, but industrial gas use rose because of the restart of Canadian menthol producer Methanex's 1.7mn t/yr Motunui plant. New Zealand's gas supply reached 115.7PJ (3.1bn m³) in 2024, down by 21pc from 2023, because of natural field declines. Methanol producer Methanex idled its plants in Motunui for several months in August-October 2024 because of gas supply issues. By Avinash Govind Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US aims to contain Greenland fallout on market
US aims to contain Greenland fallout on market
Washington, 20 January (Argus) — President Donald Trump's administration is rushing to stave off a potential trade war with Europe and its negative effects on financial markets, as the UK and EU have pushed back on his bid to annex Denmark's Greenland territory. Trump has threatened to impose a 10pc tariff on US imports from the UK and seven members of the EU from 1 February, unless they agree to his demand for the US takeover of Greenland. The UK appears to rule out retaliatory measures, but EU leaders will meet on 22 January to agree on the bloc's response. The European parliament is preparing to freeze work on implementing laws for the EU-US trade deal agreed to last summer. US stock and financial markets fell in Tuesday morning sessions. But US treasury secretary Scott Bessent, speaking at the Davos Economic Forum in Switzerland, urged his EU counterparts to desist from retaliatory measures. He blamed the downward trend in US financial markets on the contagion effect from a sharp fall in Japan's government bond markets on Monday. "I tell everyone, 'sit back, take a deep breath, do not retaliate'", Bessent said at the forum. "The president will be here tomorrow, and he will get his message across." Trump is scheduled to arrive in Davos on Wednesday to address the forum and hold meetings with EU leaders. California governor Gavin Newsom (D), who is also at Davos, on Tuesday urged the European leaders to take a tougher stand against Trump. Newsom said his message to the EU leaders is to "get off your knees and grow a spine," adding that "there's no diplomacy with Donald Trump." The White House has not released any details on how Trump's tariff threat against select EU members will be carried out and whether energy commodities will continue to be exempted from tariffs. So far there are no executive orders from Trump on implementing tariffs starting 1 February. Bessent also defended Trump's designs on Greenland, reiterating the president's argument that the US needs to take over the island's security to prevent Russia and China from attacking it. Bessent asserted that "this has been in the minds of American presidents for more than 150 years". The French foreign ministry on Monday said that the US explanation for needing to annex Greenland is the equivalent of arguing that "if there were a fire someday, firefighters would intervene — so better burn the house now." By Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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