*Global crude demand has been whacked by Covid-19. Latest IEA forecasts have 2020 demand down 8.4mn b/d on 2019 (MEES, 18 September), with no guarantee that demand will recover next year, or maybe ever (MEES, 18 September).
*For LNG the picture is less dramatic. Imports by the world’s top five LNG buyers, all in Asia, were up by 2.6% at 146.0mn tons for the first eight months of 2020 (see chart 1). For sure, without Covid the gains would have been more substantial: Q1 2020 volumes were up 7% year-on-year at a quarterly record 60.3mn tons. But when compared against the carnage on oil markets, any sort of gains look impressive. (CONTINUED - 808 WORDS)
