Platts Launches Daily LNG Price Points for Southwest and Northwest Europe

LONDON, June 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Platts, the world's leading energy information provider, today announced it has begun publishing daily price assessments for liquefied natural gas (LNG) imported to Southwest Europe and to Northwest Europe, two key LNG consumer regions. These two new price points are the latest addition to Platts' LNG market coverage which started in February 2009 with the launch of the Platts Japan/Korea Marker (JKM), the industry's first daily spot price.

"Countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas are increasingly importing LNG to better meet the demand for natural gas, making it one of the most dynamic markets," said  Vera Blei, Platts editorial director, European Gas. "With the new price points, Platts is now bringing transparency to the European LNG market as it competes for spot LNG supplies."

The new European LNG price references are:

• The Southwest Europe (SWE) Marker – reflecting cargo prices delivered into Spain at the ports of Huelva, El Ferrol LNG (Mugardos), Bilbao, Barcelona, Saggas LNG (Sagunto) and Cartagena; and at Sines LNG in Portugal.
• The Northwest Europe (NWE) Marker – reflecting cargo prices for delivery into the ports of Isle of Grain and Milford Haven (South Hook and Dragon) in the United Kingdom and Zeebrugge in Belgium.

The assessments reflect standard cargoes of 125,000 to 155,000 cubic meters delivered ex-ship.

In addition to the two new LNG price points, Platts also began publishing a second daily assessment of the spot charter rate for LNG vessels to help underpin freight calculations. This assessment is known as the Atlantic LNG Day Rate or ATDR, in addition to the existing Platts daily spot charter rate assessment for Asia Pacific, known as Asia-Pacific Day Rate (APDR).

The new assessment launch follows an extensive consultation process with the industry.

"Europe often competes with Asian-Pacific countries for LNG supplies, so the new price data should help producers, consumers and traders of natural gas and LNG throughout the world," said Jonty Rushforth, senior editor Asia LNG.

Platts Northwest Europe (NWE) and Southwest Europe (SWE) assessments will be published in Platts LNG Daily, the first-ever daily independent news publication for the global LNG industry. They will also be available in Platts' real-time services Natural Gas Alert (NGA) and European Power Alert (EPA), as well as in Platts' LNG TraderNet, and Platts' Dispatch .

The 2009-launched Platts Japan/Korea Marker (JKM) is used by industry participants as a leading indicator for spot Asian LNG prices. In January 2010, Platts enhanced its LNG market coverage with the launch of additional price assessments for LNG imported to India and exported from Australia and the Middle East, the world's largest LNG producing region, together with a daily assessment of the spot charter rate for LNG vessels in Asia.

Platts' spot LNG assessments are developed using its market-on-close methodology for natural gas, a structured assessment process based on the principle that price is a function of time and which results in a time-sensitive end-of-trading-day value. For more information, visit the methodology and reference page of the Platts website.  For more information on natural gas and Platts, visit the website www.platts.com.

About Platts: Platts, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), is a leading global provider of energy and commodities information. With a century of business experience, Platts serves customers across more than 150 countries. An independent provider, Platts serves the oil, natural gas, electricity, emissions, nuclear power, coal, petrochemical, shipping, and metals markets from 17 offices worldwide. Platts' real-time news, pricing, analytical services and conferences help markets operate with transparency and efficiency. Traders, risk managers, analysts, and industry leaders depend upon Platts to help them make better trading and investment decisions. Additional information is available at http://www.platts.com.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies: Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP) is a global information and education company providing knowledge, insights and analysis in the financial, education and business information sectors through leading brands including Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, Platts, and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2009 were $5.95 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.  

SOURCE Platts