Australia’s NWS equity holders offer spot October LNG cargoes

Partners in the North West Shelf (NWS) LNG venture are offering three-to-four spot cargoes for October, according to traders in Europe and Asia.

Potential buyers are expected to negotiate the prices with the equity holders on a bilateral basis, the traders said.

The deals might also be benchmarked against the regional pricing curve, they added. The ICIS East Asia Index for October ‘15 was assessed at $8.231/MMBtu on 3 August.

The spot cargoes are available on either a DES (delivered ex-ship) or FOB (free on board) basis. It is unclear whether the cargoes are a result of excess production at the 16.3mtpa NWS LNG complex in western Australia or if volumes not taken by long-term contract offtakers.

The identity of the equity holders offering the October cargoes could not be confirmed immediately. The six participants with equal interest in NWS LNG are Australia-based mining company BHP Billiton, UK-based oil company BP, US-based major Chevron, Japanese joint venture Japan Australia LNG, Anglo-Dutch major Shell and Australian company Woodside Petroleum.

The NWS LNG venture on 1 June this year moved to a structure in which they would market uncommitted LNG volumes individually, instead of through a marketing agency. xieli.lee@icis.com