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By Ekaterina Kravtsova
LONDON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - At least five laden liquefied
natural gas (LNG) tankers changed course from Europe to Asia and
a rising number of other tankers were being used as floating
storage following a spike in Asian LNG prices in the past week,
trade sources said.
While there may be specific reasons for the re-routing of
individual cargoes, the diversion of so many tankers at the same
time indicated a long market, meaning sellers were holding
positions in the expectation of higher prices, the sources said.
Spot Asian LNG prices jumped last week after a rise in
European gas prices and extended gains this week following on
from the oil price spike due to the attacks on Saudi Arabia's
oil facilities.
The price for LNG delivered to Asia in the second half of
October grew to around $5.70 per million British thermal units
(mmBtu) this week, over a $1.00 rise from two weeks ago.
November delivery traded above $6.00/mmBtu this week.
European LNG price benchmarks, Dutch gas for October and
November deliveries, were trading at around $4.10/mmBtu and
$5.64/mmBtu, respectively, on Thursday.
Four of the tankers that changed direction are carrying
cargoes from the United States, while one is sourced from
Nigeria, Refinitiv vessel ship tracking data shows.
Energy Liberty, chartered by Japan's Tokyo Gas, had
been signalling Barcelona as a destination but changed course
last week and is now heading to Japan, where hot weather has
increased gas demand in the past month.
Methane Alison Victoria made a U-turn from Europe towards
the Cape of Good Hope after loading in Nigeria last week and is
likely to go to Asia.
Cheniere's Yari LNG sailed towards Cape of Good Hope
this week too, having loaded a cargo in the U.S. three weeks
ago, headed to Europe, then waited near Gibraltar for ten days.
Diamond Gas Sakura loaded a U.S. Cameron LNG cargo in
mid-August and was first expected to go to Gibraltar but is now
heading to the Indian Ocean, having paused near the Panama
Canal.
Gaslog Saratoga, chartered by trading house Gunvor, was
going to Italy, before changing route late last week and is now
heading to Pakistan, where Gunvor won two delivery slots for
October delivery in a recent tender.
Some of the tankers are sailing quickly, implying sellers
made quick decisions and were now in a hurry to deliver. But
others, like Diamond Gas Sakura, may still have no exact
destination and are simply being slowly moved to Asia where
prices increased, one LNG trader said.
In Asia, at least three cargoes, BP's Sean Spirit,
Petronas' Seri Cemara and Royal Dutch Shell's Gallina,
are identified as a floating storage, data firm Kpler said.
(Reporting by Ekaterina Kravtsova; editing by Sabina Zawadzki
and Chris Reese)
