London, 20 March (Argus) — European LNG imports remained low in January but increased slightly compared with December.

January’s gross receipts rose to 34.8TWh from 29.7TWh in December, which was the lowest monthly level since October 2005, but were down from 48.5TWh in January 2013, according to the European Commission. A lag in some countries' customs information reporting could skew the figures, which do not reflect re-exports, with December’s figure revised slightly higher over the past month.

Higher deliveries from Nigeria drove much of the month-on-month increase in January, rising to 6.82TWh from 3.97TWh as Spanish receipts climbed to 5.08TWh from 2.05TWh. Receipts from Algeria increased to 10.2TWh from 8.62TWh as deliveries to Greece and France rose.

European imports from Qatar rose to 12.2TWh in January from 11.4TWh in December, but fell from 24.7TWh a year earlier, according to the commission. The UK imported 4.86TWh in

January, up from 1.74TWh in December, despite no tankers from Qatar arriving at UK ports in January. The UK received only the 75,500m³ Cheikh el Mokrani from Algeria in January, although tankers from Qatar docked in late December and early February, and could have been recorded as January imports in customs data. Spanish and French receipts from Qatar slipped in January, more than offsetting an increase in Belgian imports.

The decline in European LNG imports in recent years has largely been the result of LNG being redirected towards Asia-Pacific, particularly from Qatar. European receipts from Qatar slipped to 234TWh in 2013 from 317TWh in 2012 and 452TWh in 2011. January deliveries were less than half the 24.7TWh recorded a year earlier as tight LNG supply and firm Asia-Pacific demand and prices further drew cargoes away from the Atlantic basin.

European LNG receipts appear to have rebounded slightly in February and so far this month. The UK is due to receive tankers containing up to 960,428m³ this month, up from 748,200m³ in February and 75,500m³ in January.

But France has this month scheduled just two deliveries containing 270,231m³ — judging by vessel size — and the first re-export since November, compared with net imports of 285,800m³ in February and 427,530m³ in January.

Spanish LNG re-exports rose in February compared with January and are scheduled to reach a new record of 1.14mn m³ in March.

Strong Asia-Pacific and Latin American demand and prices have drawn cargoes away from Europe this year. But Asia-Pacific prices have eased in recent weeks heading towards the end of the heating season, which could offer an incentive to redirect more supply to the Atlantic basin over the coming months.

eb/is

By argusmedia.com