Global LNG trade is buoyant due to a wave of new sources of LNG supply. What were historically distinct, regional LNG markets are becoming increasingly interconnected as the global LNG market evolves and diversifies. Against this back- ground, Europe’s LNG import terminals are gaining momentum and prominence in the global LNG market.

LNG is playing an increasingly important role in Europe’s energy (and specifically gas) supply mix. After a period of low utilisation of Europe’s LNG import terminals between late 2012 and early 2017 (mainly due to higher Asian demand and prices attracting LNG supplies away from Europe), LNG imports to Europe grew steadily in 2018 and surged in the first half of 2019. The rise in LNG imports to Europe is primarily due to the reversal of a multi-year trend of higher Asian LNG prices over European wholesale gas market prices. Europe’s 15 LNG-importing countries imported 48.91 million tonnes (MMt) of LNG in 2018 (net of re-exports) – representing 15.6% of the global LNG share and an increase of 6.4% on import levels in 20171 – and 17.5 MMt in the first quarter of 2019 (compared to 7.8 MMt in the first quarter of 2018)2. A significant amount of the increased LNG deliveries into Europe were LNG spot cargos, evidencing a trend away from long term LNG supply contracts which were the foundations of the European LNG market.