Gas breaks the oil price link
The proportion of LNG priced on an oil-indexed basis fell to its lowest ever level in 2019
The LNG industry broke records last year in terms of global trade volumes, sanctioned new capacity and the share of spot shipments. An annual survey of wholesale gas prices and price formation mechanisms conducted by lobby group the International Gas Union (IGU) throws up another—the global share of oil and oil products price-linked LNG dipped below 60pc for the first time. The IGU began regularly surveying world wholesale gas pricing in 2005, initially every couple of years and annually from 2012. For much of that period, the story was one of a shift from oil-price escalation (OPE) to gas-on-gas (GOG) competition—mainly because of changes in long-term pipeline gas contracts in Europe as oil
Also in this section
16 January 2026
The country’s global energy importance and domestic political fate are interlocked, highlighting its outsized oil and gas powers, and the heightened fallout risk
16 January 2026
The global maritime oil transport sector enters 2026 facing a rare convergence of crude oversupply, record newbuild deliveries and the potential easing of several geopolitical disruptions that have shaped trade flows since 2022
15 January 2026
Rebuilding industry, energy dominance and lower energy costs are key goals that remain at odds in 2026
14 January 2026
Chavez’s socialist reforms boosted state control but pushed knowledge and capital out of the sector, opening the way for the US shale revolution






