Strong LNG production for May, June weighs down prices

MILAN (Reuters) - Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices for May delivery fell this week as ample supply from Indonesia to Malaysia outweighed demand from Thailand, India and Taiwan, while European gas prices closed in on Pacific benchmarks.

The price of Asian spot cargoes slipped to $7.10 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) from $7.45 per mmBtu last week.

Export plants from Papua New Guinea to Indonesia's Bontang and Malaysia's Bintulu offered June-loading cargoes, with some uncertainty attached to Bintulu supply, a source said.

India's GSPC and Gail were both seeking cargoes although some traders said it was hard to gauge the extent of firm demand. GSPC may have demand for two to three cargoes in May-June, while Gail sought a delivery in April-May, a trader said.

The winner of a tender by Thailand's PTT to buy a single cargo arriving in late-May, early-June remained uncertain.

"I heard that an Asia-Pacific producer got it," a trader said.

Taiwan's CPC was looking to buy around two cargoes for June, while demand from the world's biggest buyer Korea Gas Corp. remained muted.

"Strong European gas prices in Britain and the Netherlands are closing spreads with Asia, which means not much chance of re-exports from north-west European terminals," a trader in the region said.

British May gas prices traded at $6.75 per mmBtu on Friday, showing a $0.35 per mmBtu discount to Asian spot levels. In October the discount was $6 per mmBtu.

"Right now the (north-west European) terminals are in send-out mode," the trader added.

Australia's latest LNG export project coming on stream this summer at Gladstone has begun sounding out potential buyers as it seeks to place its first six months of production into already over-supplied spot markets.

Australia Pacific LNG expects to begin loading tankers late in the third quarter for sale to market participants before long-term delivery obligations start in April 2016, traders said.

Within that window, exports are estimated at between two to three cargoes per month, with seven to 10 cargoes planned by the end of the year, traders said.

Fighting in Yemen is scaring off shippers and has forced liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant there to take one of its production plants, or trains, off line.

At least four LNG tankers headed for Yemen have been diverted as chaos mounts after the launch of Saudi-led air strikes last month.

(Reporting by Oleg Vukmanovic; Additional reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pederson in Singapore; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)