Natural gas
Overview
Natural gas has been fuelling industrial and economic growth across developed and developing countries. Its usage is set to increase as it is also being considered as a low-carbon fuel that can help make the transition to a no-to-low-carbon economy. Argus is your irreplaceable source of price information, news, expert analysis and fundamentals data for international natural gas markets.
Whether you need access to key gas prices and indexes, expert commentary on all the latest industry developments, or market data to aid your business planning, we give you the information you need and the expert view to understand it.
Latest natural gas news
Browse the latest market moving news on the global natural gas industry.
Australia’s Santos to pursue Papua LNG, Alaska oil
Australia’s Santos to pursue Papua LNG, Alaska oil
Sydney, 26 May (Argus) — Australian independent Santos has outlined plans to focus on its best-performing and most profitable projects, including LNG projects and its Alaska North Slope oil tenements, while slashing spending on Australian domestic gas fields. Santos will transform its Australian domestic oil and gas business to reduce capital expenditure (capex) and raise margins, chief executive Kevin Gallagher told an investor forum in Sydney on 26 May. The company will focus on production in the Moomba Central fields area in South Australia state's onshore Cooper basin, maintaining throughput at the Moomba gas plant while deprioritising other Cooper basin fields, to save $300mn in capex between 2027-30 and $150mn/year thereafter. The company will develop two profitable basins — in Alaska, where it is bringing its 80,000 b/d Pikka phase 1 oil field online, and in Papua New Guinea, where it holds equity in the proposed Papua LNG terminal which is due to reach a final investment decision (FID) in July-December this year . Santos took an FID on connecting new gas supply to the ExxonMobil-operated 6.9mn t/yr PNG LNG joint venture earlier this month. Domestic prospects The Adelaide-based firm has prioritised foreign projects in recent years, with Gallagher criticising the Australian government's position on the process for achieving offshore regulatory approvals during the Barossa pipeline court dispute. Despite this it produced first gas at the Barossa LNG project earlier this year and said it had overcome commissioning problems that paused shipments of LNG between 26 February and 21 May, with the project now at 75pc of its planned 2026 production rates and targeting plateau production in mid-2026. Santos plans to drill three appraisal wells in Australia's onshore Beetaloo shale gas subbasin from July, which it said may contain 430 tcf of undiscovered gas and could become a major source of LNG feedstock. The company's other Australian upstream target is the Bedout subbasin offshore Western Australia (WA) where it has repeatedly deferred development of the Dorado phase 1 project — which was to include a 60,000 b/d oilfield, considered to be the largest undeveloped oil project in Australia. Santos will appraise the three wells for scale in 2027. In carbon markets, the company said it would aim to achieve FID-ready status at its proposed 10mn t/yr Bayu-Undan carbon capture and storage (CCS) scheme in 2026. The initial customer would be Barossa, with 2.3mn t/yr planned for sequestration in the former gas field between Australia and East Timor. But third-party CO2 volumes would be sought to commercialise the CCS project further, Gallagher said. By Tom Major Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Australia’s Amplitude to buy 50pc of Artisan gas field
Australia’s Amplitude to buy 50pc of Artisan gas field
Adelaide, 25 May (Argus) — Australian-listed gas company Amplitude Energy will buy fellow domestic independent Beach Energy's operatorship and a 50pc stake in the Artisan gas field in Victoria state's offshore Otway basin. The firm will spend A$58.3mn ($41.8mn) on the VIC/L35 permit southwest of Victoria's capital Melbourne, it said on 25 May, while the remaining 10pc of Beach's holding will be purchased by Israeli energy firm OG Energy which already owns a 40pc interest. The payment is equivalent to A$2/GJ ($1.51/mn Btu), fully funded through existing funds, while a A$3.75/GJ royalty payment will be capped at 62PJ gross, or 31PJ net to Amplitude, Amplitude said. The transaction is expected to be completed in July-September. "Artisan development costs will significantly benefit from leveraging the existing east coast gas supply project (ECSP) program and our readily available infrastructure," Amplitude chief executive Jane Norman said, referring to the Casino-Henry-Netherby pipeline which Artisan wells could tie-in to. Along with the Annie field, Artisan will provide the base resource for Amplitude and OG's ECSP, a 50:50 joint venture which it now plans to make a final investment decision for in the coming months, Norman said. Drilling the Juliet-1 well is now expected to start in late July or early August, to be followed by the Annie-2 well. Amplitude received an offshore gas production licence for Annie earlier this month . The ECSP is targeting increases in output by the Amplitude-operated Athena gas plant of between four- and seven-times of current output of about 14 TJ/d (370,000 m³/d), against nameplate capacity of 150 TJ/d. Australia's east is facing a gas supply shortfall later this decade as existing gas plants associated with the Gippsland basin joint venture close due to declining feedstock. LNG imports, greater storage, local production and a gas reservation policy may reduce this deficit. Beach to cancel drilling Meanwhile, Beach's La Bella-2 well will no longer be drilled as part of the Equinox phase 2 campaign , the company said today, allowing it to redirect capital to other priorities. Offloading Artisan and not drilling La Bella will unlock over A$500mn in planned spending between the 2025-26 and 2028-29 fiscal years to 30 June, chief executive Brett Woods said, with the money to be directed to opportunities with stronger returns and lower development costs. Beach will seek large-scale opportunities due to the relatively expensive nature of developing Otway basin assets, Woods said in August last year . Beach drilled the A$61mn Hercules-1 exploration well in the Otway basin in September 2025, which failed to locate significant hydrocarbons and was plugged and abandoned . The Adelaide-based firm recently acquired a 25pc share in a 750km² exploration permit in the onshore Taroom trough of Queensland state, a jurisdiction seeking to increase its oil and gas output, indicating it sees growth opportunities in the region. By Tom Major Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Dutch gas storage injections must triple to hit target
Dutch gas storage injections must triple to hit target
London, 22 May (Argus) — The Netherlands may miss its domestic fill level target as gas injections must triple from their current rate, which is unlikely given the Grijpskerk site's unbooked status. But the country could reach its EU-mandated fill level target — which could possibly be relaxed — even if Grijpskerk remains empty. The sluggish start to the Dutch stockbuild is narrowing the scope for the country reaching its government-mandated 80pc — or 115TWh — fill level target by 1 November. Combined net injections into the country's four seasonal storage sites have averaged 208 GWh/d over 1-21 May, half the three-year average of 401 GWh/d and well below the year-earlier level of 476 GWh/d. This has left Dutch sites at a 13pc fill level, holding 18TWh of gas. If the country aims to reach the national 1 November target, it must nearly triple injections from their current rate and hold them at 595 GWh/d until that date to fill an additional 97TWh into sites. This seems extremely unlikely given the current level of storage bookings and lack of incentives to inject. There are currently no injections at the Grijpskerk and Alkmaar sites, while Bergermeer has seen net withdrawals of gas over the past month because of a prolonged cold spell. The only injections happening in the country are at Norg. To reach the target, Norg and Bergermeer, the two largest sites, must each inject in the range of 270–290 GWh/d, while Alkmaar — which cannot begin injections until 1 August — needs to inject around 54 GWh/d across its 92-day window. This is theoretically achievable, but leaves little room for prolonged outages or weak market incentives to inject. The most uncertain variable is Grijpskerk. If operator Nam allocates the space over the next week and injections begin on 1 June, injections would have to average 142 GWh/d, against a maximum injection rate of 160 GWh/d, until 1 November. A July start narrows the scope significantly, after accounting for the 1-19 July planned works at the site, pushing the required injection average to around 183 GWh/d — beyond what the site can physically deliver. Any start date from August onwards makes hitting Grijpskerk's 80pc target impossible at maximum injection rates ( see table ). Nam has been unable to allocate space at the Grijpskerk site because of little market interest. The issue could arise from the fact that any firm that is interested in Grijpskerk has to book its entire storage space due to the site's physical constraints, according to Nam. EU target potentially offers more leeway The Netherlands could still technically meet its EU-mandated fill level, even if Grijpskerk remains empty, but injections must still rise by at least 80pc from their current rate. The Netherlands has to hit a 74pc fill level target during 1 October-1 December under EU regulation, and the target could even be lower, as the European Commission encouraged member states to use a 10-percentage-point relaxation , which could potentially bring the target down to 64pc. A 64pc fill level target would be much more achievable, as it could be achieved at a 430 GWh/d injection rate for a 1 November deadline or a 362.5 GWh/d rate for a 1 December deadline. But both these rates still require injections to pick up significantly from their current rates. In any case, a 64pc fill level would also provide more flexibility for a decision to be made on Grijpskerk. At the latest, injections at the site could begin on 27 August if the target is reached by 1 December. But the 64pc fill level target allows Nam to not have to allocate space at Grijpskerk. If Norg and Bergermeer fill to around 80pc, the 64pc EU target can be reached without Grijpskerk. This is physically feasible, but it shifts 15.26TWh of storage burden onto both sites, which both sites could sustain given their maximum injection capacities. Also, a 64pc fill level target means the Netherlands would have to fill around 88TWh — just 8TWh less than EBN's filling mandate of 80TWh. If EBN covers that level, only 8TWh would be left for the market, which could happen later this summer if storage spreads normalise. And as long as the market is not incentivised to fill, EBN will continue filling storage sites, as it injects when market-based, spread-driven injections are insufficient. The TTF May price closed at a €1.78/MWh premium to the following winter on 21 May. The spread gets wider further down the curve, peaking at its widest point in August at €2.04/MWh. By Alejandro Moreano Grijpskerk scenarios GWh/d Start date Net injection days Avg needed pc of max capacity (160 GWh/d) Feasible 1 Jun 2026 134.0 142.4 89pc Yes - tight 1 Jul 2026 104.0 183.5 114pc No - exceeds max cap 1 Aug 2026 92.0 207.4 130pc No - exceeds max cap 1 Sep 2026 61.0 312.8 196pc No - exceeds max cap 1 Oct 2026 31.0 615.5 384pc No - exceeds max cap Argus Injection curve for 64pc EU target €/MWh Average daily injection needed for 80pc target GWh/d Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Dutch govt formalises renewable gas blending obligation
Dutch govt formalises renewable gas blending obligation
London, 21 May (Argus) — The Dutch government has formally submitted its renewable gas blending obligation bill to parliament, requiring suppliers to reduce a certain amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions annually by supplying biomethane to their end users. The bill allows for imports from other EU countries. Under the system, suppliers must submit green gas units — groengaseenheid (GGEs) — to a central registry managed by the Dutch Emissions Authority, with each unit representing 1 kg of CO2 equivalent emissions saved. Suppliers can meet their obligation — which is based on their market share of supply — by converting renewable gas guarantees of origin (RGGOs) and Proofs of Sustainability (PoS) into GGEs. To be eligible for conversion, the renewable gas must be unsubsidised and comply with RED III sustainability and GHG reduction criteria, verified through EU-recognised certification schemes such as ISCC. A key feature of the bill is that renewable gas produced in other EU member states can count towards the obligation, including gas injected into the interconnected European gas grid, provided it meets the same requirements as Dutch renewable gas. In practice, compliance would be demonstrated through the use of RGGOs and an accompanying PoS. Foreign GOOs can be transferred into the Dutch system via the Association of Issuing Bodies hub. The scheme will be aligned with the Union Database once it becomes operational for biomethane. The blending mechanism allows suppliers to pay a buyout price to cover all or part of their annual obligation not met by the provision of renewable gas, providing a ceiling price in the event of supply shortages. The proposed price is €450/t, but a sliding scale could be applied, whereby the price rises the more that a supplier uses the mechanism to cover its obligations. The proposal gives gas suppliers the option to carry over GGEs into the following calendar year, up to a maximum 10pc of the total quota, to "prevent unwanted market distortions". The overarching target of the blending obligation is to achieve a CO2 chain-emission reduction of 2.85mn t in 2031, estimated to correspond to 0.84bn m³ of production. This would be achieved through increasing annual targets, starting with a 0.63mn t CO2 chain emission reduction in 2027, corresponding to roughly 0.16bn m³ of green gas (see table) . To support long-term investments, the obligation will continue until 2035, with specific targets for 2031-2035 to be revised based on green gas production at the time. The bill will now go through the Dutch legislative process in Parliament, including the development of secondary legislation to set more detailed rules. By Giulio Bajona Green gas obligation annual targets CO₂ reduction (mn t) Year Target 2027 0.63 2028 0.92 2029 1.33 2030 1.91 2031 2.85 2032 2.85 2033 2.85 2034 2.85 2035 2.85 — Ministry of climate policy and green growth Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Spotlight content
Browse the latest thought leadership produced by our global team of experts.
Urea Market Outlook Video Update - April 2026
Global LNG market view, summer 2026
European gas market view, summer 2026
Explore our natural gas products
Key price assessments
Argus prices are recognised by the market as trusted and reliable indicators of the real market value. Explore some of our most widely used and relevant price assessments.
