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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Iran, US dispute status of Hormuz in draft deal: Update
Iran, US dispute status of Hormuz in draft deal: Update
Updates with US comments, other details London, 27 May (Argus) — A draft agreement to end the war between the US and Iran includes a pledge from Tehran to return the number of commercial ships passing the strait of Hormuz to pre-war levels within a month, Iranian state television reported on Wednesday. But President Donald Trump later on Wednesday pushed back against Tehran's assertion of control over Hormuz and other Iranian demands. Crude futures fell sharply after the report by Iranian broadcaster IRIB, with front-month Ice Brent approaching $94/bl, the lowest intraday level since 21 April. Prices subsequently regained some ground. IRIB said it had seen a "first draft" of a 14-point agreement that said "managing the passage of ships… and receiving fees for services remains at the discretion of [Iran], which will work in co-operation with Oman". In return, IRIB said the US has pledged to lift the maritime blockade on Iran, and has agreed to "make a commitment" on the issue of its military presence in countries neighbouring Iran. The IRIB report contains no mention of agreement on other key issues, like Iran's nuclear programme, or on the repatriation of funds to Tehran. Iranian officials previously indicated they are eyeing the return of its funds frozen in foreign banks under US mandates. Trump, in televised remarks at the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, said he expects the strait of Hormuz to reopen immediately if an agreement is signed. "The strait (of Hormuz) is going to be open to everybody," Trump said. "We'll watch over it, but nobody's going to control it. That's part of the negotiation that we have. They would like to control it, nobody's going to control it." Tehran has touted a joint Iranian-Omani mechanism to control navigation through Hormuz. "It's international waters, and Oman will behave just like everybody else, and we'll have to blow them up," Trump said. "They understand that. They'll be fine." Iran should not count on immediate relief of US sanctions or repatriation of funds, Trump said. "We're not talking about any easing of sanctions or giving money," Trump said. "We'll keep control of that money. When they behave properly, and when they do what's right, we'll let them have their money, but right now we're not doing that." By Nader Itayim, Ben Winkley and Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
CEE gas stocks to reach 70pc by 1 Nov amid deficit
CEE gas stocks to reach 70pc by 1 Nov amid deficit
London, 27 May (Argus) — Central and eastern Europe's (CEE) gas storage injections remain too slow to fully offset a year-on-year deficit, with inventories on track to reach 70pc by 1 November, as conditions diverge across countries depending on supply and storage mandates. The region's average injection rate was almost unchanged on the year at 69.6 GWh/d over 1 April–25 May, compared with 68.7 GWh/d a year earlier. This kept the storage deficit in place because the EU ended winter with much lower stocks than a year earlier. Austria recorded the largest year-on-year shortfall at 7.6TWh, followed by the Czech Republic at 5.1TWh and Slovakia at 2.5TWh on 26 May, GIE transparency platform data show (see stocks graph ). The combined inventory deficit in Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia was 15.7TWh on 26 May. If current year-on-year differences in injection rates hold through the summer, the regional storage fill could reach 70pc by 1 November, down from 82pc a year earlier. Injection patterns vary as national storage mandates and supply portfolios influence filling strategies. Assuming that the summer stockbuild remains at the same deficit to last year in the coming month, storage in Poland is on track to reach capacity in early October, while Slovakia, Hungary, Austria and Romania are projected to reach 80pc on average by 1 November, and 60pc in the Czech Republic. In contrast, Bulgaria and Croatia are on track to reach only 26pc. National storage obligations accelerated stockbuilding earlier this year in some CEE countries by setting mandatory deadlines. Hungarian and Slovak law require certain market participants to build storage reserves in domestic facilities. And the Czech Republic targets 60pc fill by 1 September and 90pc by 1 November. Poland's stockbuild rose by around 50 GWh/d on the year on 1 April–26 May, with Slovakia up by 42 GWh/d and Hungary by 18 GWh/d, partially offsetting earlier storage deficits (see injections graph ). Assuming this injection pace, storage in these countries could exceed last year's levels and stay above 80pc by 1 November. Stable supply portfolios have supported these gains, as the countries rely on long-term pipeline deals and offshore production. Hungary and Slovakia remain highly dependent on gas via Turkish Stream, while Poland's supply portfolio includes a substantial share of Norwegian gas. These flows tend to remain stable throughout the year, with interruptions mostly limited to scheduled maintenance. Prague on track to miss target The Czech Republic faces the highest risk of missing its target unless it sharply accelerates injections in the second half of the summer. Czech injections slowed by 58 GWh/d on the year on 1 April–25 May, and in Bulgaria by 20 GWh/d, which may increase reliance on imports later in summer. Bulgaria and Croatia also have limited storage compared with demand and rely heavily on LNG imports. The persistently weak stockbuild and low inventories in the Czech Republic could widen the year-on-year gap further. At the current trajectory, storage could hold at around 28TWh, or 60pc, by 1 November — well below the 90pc target. The Czech Republic is very dependent on LNG, leaving it exposed to global competition and cargo diversions to higher-priced markets. Czech state-controlled utility Cez has booked 3bn m³/yr of LNG capacity at the Dutch 8bn m³/yr Eemshaven terminal to the end of October 2027. This covers almost half the country's annual demand last year, showing its growing reliance on LNG. This setup may limit availability and increase both price volatility and supply risk despite secured regasification capacity. By Victoria Dovgal Net injections 2026 vs 2025 GWh/d CEE stocks dynamic TWh CEE stocks by country TWh Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Iran-US deal draft contains Hormuz pledge: State TV
Iran-US deal draft contains Hormuz pledge: State TV
London, 27 May (Argus) — A draft agreement to end the war between the US and Iran includes a pledge from Tehran to return the number of commercial ships passing the strait of Hormuz to pre-war levels within a month, Iranian state television reported today. Crude futures fell sharply after the report, with front-month Ice Brent approaching $94/bl, the lowest intraday level since 21 April. Prices subsequently regained some ground, with Ice Brent down by around 4pc as of 13:45 GMT. Broadcaster IRIB said it had seen a "first draft" of a 14-point agreement that said "managing the passage of ships… and receiving fees for services remains at the discretion of [Iran], which will work in co-operation with Oman". In return, IRIB said the US has pledged to lift the maritime blockade on Iran, and has agreed to "make a commitment" on the issue of its military presence in countries neighbouring Iran. Details of the latter agreement are unclear. None of this has been confirmed by the governments in Tehran or Washington, although US president Donald Trump on 23 May said an agreement with Iran to reopen the strait of Hormuz has been "largely negotiated". Today's IRIB report contains no mention of agreement on other key issues, like Iran's nuclear programme, or on the repatriation of funds to Tehran. By Nader Itayim and Ben Winkley Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Q&A: Australia's Santos plans growth in PNG, Alaska
Q&A: Australia's Santos plans growth in PNG, Alaska
Sydney, 27 May (Argus) — Argus spoke to Kevin Gallagher, chief executive of Australia's second-largest listed oil and gas producer Santos, about the company's outlook for its most prospective assets located in Australia, Papua New Guinea and the US state of Alaska. Edited highlights follow: The Barossa project, which is backfilling Darwin LNG and came on line in February, has faced some issues. Are you confident these have been resolved? There's been a few bumps along the road, some fouling on our heat exchangers . We now know what caused it, we've cleaned the heating exchangers back up to factory spec, and importantly, we know how to prevent it, and we're now currently producing around 70-75pc of full planned rates for this year and we look forward to getting 100pc of production rates over the next month or so. I detect a bit of urgency regarding a potential phase two of the Pikka oil project. Can you explain your thinking regarding how that Alaska North Slope (ANS) basin is going to develop for Santos? I think that urgency that you detected is just my natural nervous energy that you've picked up on. But we're very excited by it, Pikka's about to come on line and ramp up to full production. It's a tier one basin, and Pikka is most likely a billion-barrel field. We have a 51pc equity in it and if you look at Quokka [field] that's a potential to be the same, and Horseshoe [field] potentially the same again. We will look to get Pikka established , we're not going to rush forward but I'd say the expansion of Pikka, from 80,000 b/d to 120,000 b/d, is a very strong competitor to be one of the next projects. In terms of the cash flow that asset produces, how critical is that going to be for these new phases? Our business is built on maximising free cash flow from our assets, and we do that by controlling the costs as best we can, fighting against those inflationary pressures. One of the great things about Pikka is that that ANS crude is commanding very strong premiums to Brent, it peaked in March of this year with a $20/bl premium to Brent. Back in Australia, the 7.8mn t/yr Gladstone LNG (GLNG) will be under the gas reservation policy , just how much does that expedite the need for Beetaloo, in your thinking, as a prospect to backfill GLNG? We'll appraise three wells thoroughly and properly, and it'll come along at the right time for us. We'll produce it for 9-12 months into the market, and that will give us a good feel for the economics, depletion curves et cetera. From my perspective the Beetaloo has the potential to supply our LNG assets and the east coast [domestic] market fully for the next 50-plus years. Taking our time to get this right is important, because if we get it right, it's a game changer for Santos and Australia, absolute game changer, and it will ensure all this noise about the east coast market becomes a distant conversation. You have discussed potential expansion of Darwin LNG to 10mn t/yr capacity through additional trains. How critical are these three initial Beetaloo wells to that decision? Very critical, we want to prove up the resource. We want to prove the economics and the performance and the deliverability of the reservoir then thirdly, that cost of supply. These initial wells will be quite expensive because they're very standalone, they're very remote, but we will get the indications from that as to what we can get those well costs down to when we scale up for a full-scale development. On the $14bn Papua LNG's final investment decision (FID), what exactly must happen between the development forum, which is likely scheduled for late June or early July and getting to that FID? It's really just the financing. There's a couple of regulatory approvals that come following the development forum but nearly everything's in place. The contracts are all there, my view is once the development forum is out of the way, if everything goes to plan there, I expect it will move very quickly thereafter. On achieving FID-ready status for the 10mn t/yr Bayu-Undan CCS project this year, what are the key hurdles? It's really more just about getting the regulatory framework in place for CCS, because they don't exist today. East Timor's ministers are taking a very personal interest in this project now. And then it comes down to government-to-government, getting the arrangements in place to facilitate the transport of CO2 across borders. And that's ultimately the more critical path. The US-Iran war, how has it confirmed your thinking about the oil and gas business and how has it challenged that thinking in the last couple of months? I think what it's done is highlighted that the world runs on oil and gas, the energy mix globally is still around 83pc fossil fuels. For all the trillions of dollars we're investing in renewables, it's taking up a portion of the additive energy demand, not replacing the demand for fossil fuels. Gas will grow considerably between now and 2050. Some of the latest estimates I'm seeing are up to 60pc in the Asian region alone. Everything we do is built on a foundation of fossil fuels. If that's the case, decarbonisation needs to be a priority, as opposed to defossilisation. AI's going to require a lot more energy in the future, and every country's committing 3pc of their GDP to defence budgets. Ships, tanks, aeroplanes, that's a lot of steel, that's a lot of energy. So that's going to take more energy at demand, add more to demand. I think it's a great opportunity for CCS to grow, because if we're going to decarbonise, we need to get serious about supporting technologies like CCS and not dreaming about technologies that are going to replace fossil fuels. By Tom Major Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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