Asia is struggling to obtain spot LNG cargoes for emergency supply this month as the halt to Qatar’s exports tightened the market and reignited competition with Europe for promptly available supply.
In the absence of Qatar’s term supply and about 20% of global LNG flows blocked at the Strait of Hormuz, some buyers in South and Southeast Asia who have sought spot cargoes for March have failed to purchase any, sources and officials at key Asian LNG importers told Bloomberg on Tuesday.
Tenders for spot supply from India’s major gas buyers Gail and GSPC have not resulted in any awards, while other supply, for example, in Bangladesh, has been contracted at much higher prices compared to January, according to Bloomberg’s sources.
Unawarded tenders suggest that there isn’t enough immediately available supply for March, as most of the world scrambles to import spot LNG cargoes amid uncertainty about how long the war will impact Qatar’s LNG halt.