Oman, Australia LNG vessels head west as Europe draws supply
- Two tankers loaded in Oman in early February
- One of them is sailing through Red Sea to Turkey
- Another departed Australia on Feb. 5–6 for France
At least three vessels carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Oman and Australia are heading west for delivery, with one sailing through the Red Sea, shiptracking data showed on Monday, as higher prices in Europe continue to draw more supplies.
Increasing shipments of the super-chilled fuel to Europe over Asia could help it meet additional demand, as it seeks to replace piped Russian gas after the Ukraine transit deal expired on January 1. At least six LNG cargoes diverted from Asia to Europe last month.
Two tankers loaded at Qalhat, Oman, earlier this month and are heading west, in the first such shipments since July 2023, data from analytics firms Kpler and LSEG showed.
Tanker Greenergy Pearl, loaded between February 1 and 3, is heading for the Fos Cavaou LNG terminal in France, while the Salalah LNG vessel, which loaded between February 4 and 5, is headed for the Marmara Erglisi LNG terminal in Turkey, LSEG data showed.
The vessel had sailed through the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Yemen on February 7, and is now making its way through the Red Sea.
"Flexible volumes from Oman and Qatar could continue to be destined to Europe in a high TTF environment in the prompt market," said Kpler analyst Go Katayama, referring to the Dutch Title Transfer Facility benchmark for Europe.
He added however that the number of vessels using the Bab al-Mandab strait in the Red Sea may still be limited as geopolitical risks could arise again.
Many shipping companies had previously suspended Red Sea voyages, instead rerouting vessels around Africa to avoid potential Houthi attacks.
Of the 12 MM tonnes of LNG exported from Oman last year, nearly all shipments went to Asia, with only two or three cargoes going to Kuwait, data showed.
The Iran-aligned Houthis, who have carried out more than 100 attacks on ships since November 2023 and sunk two vessels, said they would limit their attacks on commercial vessels to Israel-linked ships provided the Gaza ceasefire is fully implemented.
Additionally, an LNG vessel that departed Wheatstone, Australia, on February 5–6 is making a rare voyage to Europe, and is set to arrive at Dunkirk in France on March 7–8, the data showed.
The Elisa Ardea is a new ship put on long-term charter for French utility, said Alex Froley, senior LNG analyst at ICIS.
If the Elisa Ardea completes the voyage to France, this would be the first Australian cargo to Europe since the Woodside Rees Withers took one from Northwest Shelf to Gate in Rotterdam in November 2022, he added.
However, he does not expect more Australian LNG to head to Europe as the ship is probably being repositioned from the Pacific to the Atlantic for U.S. shipments to Europe.
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