全球LNG出口连续第三个月萎缩

据海湾时报网站8月3日消息 7月份，液化天然气市场连续第三个月萎缩，因为各国仍在努力应对冠状病毒大流行带来的经济影响。

彭博社编制的船舶跟踪数据显示，上月全球燃料出口较上年下降9.4%，为至少2017年12月以来最大的同比降幅。最大的削减来自美国和澳大利亚。从月度来看，出口比6月份的水平微升了2.5%。

疫情给增长最快的化石燃料泼了冷水，预计需求下降可能会延续到2021年。随着液化天然气市场高速增长的停滞，一系列一度前景光明的出口项目正艰难地寻找融资渠道，这将威胁到未来10年更严重的供应过剩。

荷兰皇家壳牌和道达尔作为世界上最大的液化天然气供应商，它们已经在出口设施上投资了数十亿美元，以满足日益增长的燃料需求。

由于Covid-19阻碍了经济活动，使库存接近产能，一些全球最大的液化天然气买家难以为今年夏天的合约出货腾出空间，这迫使出口商做出艰难的决定，降低产量，从市场上截留货物，以平衡全球供应。

美国出口较上年同期下降约40%，原因是在欧洲和亚洲的套利机会破灭后，客户可能会取消从墨西哥湾沿岸项目装载的超过50批货物。

亚洲是燃料需求最大的地区，由于外界猜测冬季取暖季节的开始将促进消费，亚洲的现货价格已开始从创纪录的低位回升。

同时，由于Covid-19措施迫使买家减少交货量，燃料进口量同比下降5.1%，这是进口连续第二个月下降，此前6月是至少2017年12月以来首次同比下降。

韩国7月份的进口量比去年下降了80多万吨，为所有国家中最多，因为韩国最大的买家要求推迟高库存水平的发货。尽管日本上月进口近570万吨，为3月以来最大，但仍落后2019年水平约9.3%。

吴恒磊 编译自 海湾时报

原文如下：

Global LNG exports shrink a 3rd month as virus curbs demand

The liquefied natural gas market contracted a third month in July as countries continue to struggle with the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

Global exports of the fuel last month dropped 9.4% from the previous year, the steepest year-over-year decline since at least December 2017, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The biggest cuts came from the US and Australia. On a monthly basis, exports inched up 2.5% from June levels.

The pandemic has thrown cold water on the fastest-growing fossil fuel, with demand seen possibly extending its decline through 2021. A slew of once-promising export projects are struggling to find financing as the LNG market’s breakneck expansion stalls, threatening a worse supply glut over the next decade.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Total SE are among the world’s top LNG suppliers, and have invested billions of dollars into export facilities in order to capture the fuel’s burgeoning demand.

Some of the world’s biggest buyers of LNG have struggled to make room for contracted shipments this summer as Covid-19 stalled economic activity and left stockpiles near capacity. This has forced exporters to make the difficult decision to lower output and withhold cargoes from the market in a bid to balance global supplies.

US exports fell about 40% from a year earlier due to customers potentially cancelling over 50 cargoes slated to load from Gulf Coast projects after the arbitrage opportunities to Europe and Asia collapsed.

Spot prices in Asia, the biggest demand region for the fuel, have started to recover from record low levels amid speculation that onset of the winter heating season will boost consumption.

Meanwhile, imports of the fuel fell by 5.1% from a year earlier as Covid-19 measures forced buyers to reduce deliveries. It was the second-straight month for declining imports, after June marked the first year-over-year drop since at least December 2017.

South Korea’s imports for July dropped by more than 800,000 tonnes compared to last year, the most of any nation, as its top buyer requested to delay shipments on high inventory levels. While Japan imported nearly 5.7mn tonnes last month, the most since March, it is still lagging 2019 levels by about 9.3%.