--DES Northeast Asia

In the DES Northeast Asia market last week, the front delivery rose to around $14.15. Despite the weak demand from Northeast Asia, the rise in the Netherlands' TTF market raised the market.

Chugoku Electric Power Co resumed power generation from the 820MW No.2 unit at the Shimane nuclear power station on Dec 23, advancing two days from the original plan. Along with this, LNG demand from Chugoku Electric would be curbed, according to an energy utility in western Japan. On top of that, the western Japanese energy utility itself also faced high inventories as temperatures had been high since summer. The company stated, "Even though temperatures have been falling, the level is actually similar to normal. Gas consumption just returns to planned quantity."

For delivery to South Korea, a buy tender closed on Dec 19 by Korea Western Power (KOWEPO) was reportedly awarded at a level just above $13.00. Through the tender, KOWEPO was looking for a cargo to be delivered to the 7.90 mil mt/year Boryeong terminal on Feb 17-18.

--FOB Middle East, DES South Asia and the Middle East

Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi has recently said the country would not supply LNG to Europe if they impose a fine based on their Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) on Qatar. The EU's CSDDD is to require a company of a certain size to conduct due diligence on human rights and environmental damages; if the company fails to comply, the EU would impose fines of up to 5% of revenue.

--FOB Atlantic, DES Europe and South America

Supply worries about Russian natural gas to Europe have continued to raise prices because some European countries, such as Austria and Hungary, have not solved supply concerns yet. "It is still unclear whether LNG supplied from the US can really reach through the landlocked countries" (a Japanese company).