Australia’s largest producers join the cutback bandwagon
Developers have begun delaying new gas projects in response to oil price pressures and further capex cuts may be necessary
Australian independents Woodside Petroleum and Santos have both announced major capex cuts and deferral of several multi-billion dollar LNG projects, following plunging industrywide oil prices. The downgrade may have been triggered by an escalating oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia. But Asia’s spot LNG prices have also been in the doldrums for months—first due to unseasonably warm winter temperatures and then the Covid-19 demand shock, which triggered a Chinese shutdown in January. The combination of demand destruction and market oversupply has driven Brent down to a 20-year low, while the JKM futures prices on the CME are below $3/mn Btu for monthly contracts from May through t
Also in this section
21 February 2025
While large-scale planned LNG schemes in sub-Saharan Africa have faced fresh problems, FLNG projects are stepping into that space
20 February 2025
Greater social mobility means increased global demand for refined fuels and petrochemical products, with Asia leading the way in the expansion of refining capacity
19 February 2025
The EU would do well to ease its gas storage requirements to avoid heavy purchase costs this summer, with the targets having created market distortion while giving sellers a significant advantage over buyers
18 February 2025
Deliveries to China decline by around 1m b/d from move to curb crude exports to Shandong port, putting Iran under further economic pressure
