Total's Gas Price Creeps over $4
Total said April 13 its worldwide average quarterly gas sales price crept over $4 per million Btu for the first time in 1Q2017 in at least five quarters.
The French major's 1Q2017 average was $4.10/mn Btu; it compared with $3.89 in 4Q2016 and around $3.45 in the previous three quarters of 2016.
The prices were communicated in its 'Principal Indicators' statement, ahead of the release of full 1Q2017 results on April 27. They include gas sold by consolidated subsidiaries, excluding fixed margins. Its previously reported annual averages were $3.56 in 2016, $4.75 in 2015 and $6.57 in 2014.
Total's latest annual report said it produced 6.447bn ft3/d. The graphic below shows the distribution of its 2016 combined oil and gas production of 2.45mn barrels of oil equivalent per day, suggesting that much of Total's gas output is in low-priced markets such as the US and sub-Saharan Africa.
Graphic credit: Total annual report 2016
Japan's spot METI price slumps
If the higher 1Q2017 price reflects a firming of gas and LNG prices in Europe and northeast Asia over the relatively tight early winter period, signs from Japan's Ministry of Trade Economy and Industry are that spot Japanese LNG prices are returning to more typical 2016 levels.
Latest monthly spot LNG prices published April 11 by METI showed that the average contract-based price in March for spot cargoes intended for delivery to Japan was $6.20/mn Btu, compared to $8.50 in February 2017. The average price of spot cargoes actually arriving in Japan in March was $7.70, also lower than the equivalent February 2017 price of $8.80/mn Btu.
Mark Smedley