LNG Shipping Market Primed for Growth

By Jonathan Saul
Friday, March 5, 2021

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) ships are set to receive an earnings boost from restocking demand after colder conditions drove a scramble for supplies and record high freight rates, a top LNG tanker player said.

A cold snap in Europe and Asia in January and in North America last month increased heating demand, prompting prices to jump in several markets, while inventories fell.

"You need to replenish stocks because of the cold northern hemisphere winter in both Asia and in Europe. So, we think this is going to add to tonne miles," GasLog Partners chief executive Paul Wogan told Reuters.

Tonne miles are an indicator of shipping demand, measuring transported cargo volume multiplied by distance.

LNG tanker rates in January hit record highs of over $320,000 a day, with some charters concluded at around $350,000 a day, estimates from shipping sources showed.

Average earnings have fallen to around $20,000 a day on some routes, Baltic Exchange data showed.

Wogan said despite more tankers being delivered in 2021, rates could be "somewhere between $5,000 a day better than they were at last year".

"We think there's going to be about 20 million tonnes more LNG moved this year than last year," he said, adding that much of the additional production would come from U.S. producers.

Data from broker EA Gibson, based on AIS ship tracking, showed 14 LNG vessels had already been delivered this year with a further 44 scheduled to hit the water in 2021, which will add to the existing LNG fleet of 593 tankers.

Wogan declined to comment further on the agreement by subsidiary company GasLog Ltd to be taken private by BlackRock , the world's largest asset manager.

Gaslog Ltd's chairman Peter Livanos said last week the deal would allow "for access to growth capital currently absent in the public equity markets". 

(Editing by Barbara Lewis)

Categories: LNG Carriers LNG Tankers

Related Stories

Pharos Energy Kicks Off Drilling Campaign Offshore Vietnam

US Pressure on India Could Propel Russia's Shadow Oil Exports

Energy Drilling’s EDrill-2 Rig Starts Ops for PTTEP in Gulf of Thailand

Vietsovpetro Brings BK-24 Oil Platform Online Two Months Early

MDL Secures Cable Laying Job in Asia Pacific

Yinson Production Nets DNV Approval for New FPSO Hull Design

Hanwha Ocean's Tidal Action Drillship Starts Maiden Job with Petrobras

Petronas to Leverage AI to Expedite Oil and Gas Exploration Activities

PV Drilling Takes Ownership of Noble Corporation’s Stacked Jack-Up Rig

Aquaterra Energy Nets Subsea Analysis Contracts with INPEX off Indonesia

Current News

Malaysia’s Petronas and Oman’s OQEP Strengthen Oil and Gas Ties

Southeast Asia’s 2GW Cross-Border Offshore Wind Scheme Targets 2034 Buildout

Pharos Energy Kicks Off Drilling Campaign Offshore Vietnam

Viridien to Shed More Light on Malaysia’s Offshore Oil and Gas Potential

US Pressure on India Could Propel Russia's Shadow Oil Exports

Energy Drilling’s EDrill-2 Rig Starts Ops for PTTEP in Gulf of Thailand

RINA Wins FEED Contract for Petronas’ Flagship CCS Project in Malaysia

ABL Secures Rig Moving Assignment with India's ONGC

Pakistan, Türkiye Deepen Oil and Gas Ties with Offshore Indus-C Block Deal

Eni-Petronas Gas Joint Venture Up for Launch in 2026

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com