South Korea's Komipo seeks 15-year LNG supplies from 2027

South Korea's Korea Midland Power Co, or Komipo, Oct. 11 issued an invitation, seeking 15 years of LNG supply over 2027-41, the tender document on the company website said.

The South Korean power generation company was looking to import six cargoes a year from 2027 to 2035 and four cargoes a year from 2036 to 2041, according to the document. Each cargo size would range from 3 TBtu to 3.8 TBtu with a gross heating value of 1,020-1,120 Btu/standard cubic foot, the document said. The cargoes are meant for delivery at its Sejong power plant, Haman power plant, Boryeong combined cycle power plant and Boryeong new combined cycle power plant.

Haman Power and Boryeong new combined cycle power plants are scheduled to start commercial operations in December 2026.

The tender has two rounds. In the first round, bids are due by Nov. 18, with Komipo shortlisting potential sellers by Nov. 28. It will announce the seller by Jan. 31 after the shortlisted sellers had bid in the second round by Jan. 18, according to the document.

The pricing basis for the imports is Henry Hub, the document said.

"There's an observed trend among Korean Gencos favoring pricing based on a Henry Hub linkage rather than an oil linkage," a South Korean source said. Other market sources suggested that this shift could be driven by the expected increase in US supply starting in 2027, potentially causing price reductions and enhancing the competitiveness of the Henry Hub linkage for US cargo procurement.

According to market sources, the current tender could only cover a portion of Komipo's total demand, which is considering a hybrid pricing strategy and may introduce tenders with pricing based on both JKM and Brent linkages in the future.

Komipo last bought a 3-3.6 TBtu cargo for delivery over Oct. 10-12 via a tender, according to the company website.