Nowhere to hide: Covid-19 challenges Europe’s role as LNG sink market

摘要

Europe has long been described as the ‘market of last resort’ for LNG. Its role as a sink market was highlighted in 2019, when the region absorbed 87.3 mt – a quarter of global imports – marking a year-on-year increase of 71% from 51.1 mt in 2018. Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the spotlight has fallen again on Europe’s ability to balance the LNG market as demand destruction caused by the crisis exacerbates the ongoing supply glut. To date, and despite the pandemic, the volume of LNG supplied to Europe has increased. Imports in April rose 13% year on year, with Q1 imports 30% higher than Q1 ‘19, vessel tracking data shows.