Korea Gas Corp., the owner of three LNG import terminals and a fourth under construction , has taken a stake in the Australian coal seam-gas-to-LNG  business.

Höegh LNG, the Norwegian LNG carrier owner and offshore terminal developer, has been granted final approval for its Port Meridian Deepwater Port LNG import project offshore Barrow-in-Furness in the UK.

The newest US LNG import terminal, Sempra Energy’s Cameron LNG in Louisiana, will begin commercial operations from August when regular cargoes will begin arriving from Qatar under a short-term supply deal.

Japan’s LNG imports for May dropped 19 percent and South Korea announced it was doubling the tariff on LNG imports from July as Asia’s mature economies combat the effects of the recession.

Santos, the Australian energy company and LNG project developer, announced a binding Heads of Agreement to sell 2 million tonnes per annum of LNG to Malaysia’s Petronas, with an option for an additional 1 MTPA.

Qatar Gas Transport Co. said it raised $950 million as part of its financing for 25 new LNG carriers and the 17 banks involved included major Chinese financial institutions for the first time. 

Australian engineering company Monadelphous Group said it won a contract on the A$12 billion (US$10Bln) Pluto LNG project being constructed by Woodside Petroleum in Western Australia.

Global natural gas consumption grew by 2.5 percent, below the 10-year average, and LNG shipments in 2008 were limited by constrained supply, said the annual BP Statistical Review of World Energy.