Qatar Idles LNG Ships as Year-end Gas 20% More: Energy Markets - BusinessWeek

Qatar, the world’s biggest producer of liquefied natural gas, is idling at least eight tankers in the Gulf of Oman, as prices for year-end delivery exceed those for next month by 20 percent, the widest margin since October.

The Qatari Liquefied Gas Co. vessels have a combined capacity of 1.8 million cubic meters, enough to supply the U.K. for more than a month. The ships are off the United Arab Emirates, and their depth in the water signals they have full or partial cargoes, ship-tracking data from AIS Live Ltd. compiled by Bloomberg show.

Natural-gas has lost 20 percent this year and the contract for July delivery was trading at $4.445 per million British thermal units, up 0.5 percent, on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 7:46 a.m. in Singapore. December futures were at $5.312, meaning producers can earn more by selling later in the year, when cold weather spurs demand for heating fuel.