--DES Northeast Asia

Due to the ongoing export suspensions by Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), supplies to Northeast Asia are "tight by comparison" to pre-military action levels in Iran, said Yutaka Hashimoto, Senior Specialist at the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan. However, as the market is entering the seasonal lull in early spring and some producers have room for spot sales, talk levels for June delivery stood at discounts to DES Northeast Asia spot quotes. In the market, state-owned Brunei LNG issued a DES-based sell tender with bids closing on Apr 30. The tender covers one cargo from the 7.2 mil mt/year Brunei project for delivery to Northeast Asia during Jun 24-26. This marks the first time Brunei LNG has actively moved to sell since its previous tender closed on Mar 6, which sold a cargo for May 1-10 delivery at around $20.00. Among traders and portfolio players, bids and offers for first-half June delivery were placed at a discount of 5cts to a premium of 1ct to DES Northeast Asia spot quotes for June. Negotiations for second-half June delivery were underway at a discount of 10cts to a premium of 4cts to the quotes. For first-half July delivery, bids were heard at a discount of 7cts to DES Northeast Asia spot quotes for July.

At the 8.9 mil mt/year Ichthys project in Australia, where a labor dispute is underway over demands for improved wages and working conditions, the majority of workers at the project voted in favor of a strike on Apr 24. The strike will be postponed for six days starting May 7 to allow for negotiations between the workers and the operator, INPEX, but there is a possibility that the strike will be carried out after that. "We speculate that the Australian government may intervene in some form to avoid a strike, but we won't know for sure until it actually happens," said an industry source in Australia. On the other hand, workers also understand the current global tightness in LNG supply, and some observers believe talks will proceed with the aim of continuing production. When labor strikes occurred at the Chevron-led 8.9 mil mt/year Wheatstone project and the 15.6 mil mt/year Gorgon project in Australia between August and October 2023, production and shipments were maintained.

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

State-run Pakistan LNG (PLL) was said to have picked up one cargo for Apr 27-30 delivery to the 4.8 mil mt/year Port Qasim terminal at $18.40 from French TotalEnergies in a DES-based buy tender closed on Apr 24. In the tender, PLL originally sought three cargoes for Apr 27-30, May 1-7, and May 8-14 delivery, but the two cargoes for May delivery were apparently unawarded.

--FOB Atlantic, DES Europe and South America

A DES-based buy tender closed on Apr 29 by Argentina's state-owned ENARSA was said to have drawn offers from three companies. While the offer levels remain sketchy, British BP, European Vitol and PetroChina apparently participated in the tender. The tender sought a combined three cargoes for delivery to the 6.1 mil mt/year Escobar terminal on May 20-21, May 25-26 and May 31.