Reuters: Global LNG-Asian prices broach important $19/mmBtu level

Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices neared the $19 per million British thermal unit (mmBtu) mark on Friday as demand from China and Japan kept supplies tight.

China has hiked domestic gas prices by more than a quarter as it tries to encourage more deliveries by pipeline and ship and alleviate a severe gas shortage since early November.

Trade and industry sources said Qatar had agreed a winter supply deal with PetroChina to deliver up to 15 additional LNG cargoes on top of the volumes it already sends via a 25-year supply deal.

They said a similar winter supply deal with South Korea's Kogas, with which Qatari producer RasGas already has a long-term supply deal, had helped exhaust Qatar's spare capacity.  MORE