Platts proposes change to monthly roll timing of DES European LNG assessments

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, is proposing to change the monthly roll date for its DES Northwest Europe (NWE), DES Mediterranean (MED) and DES East Mediterranean (EMM) LNG physical and DES Northwest Europe LNG derivative price assessments, effective Aug. 17, 2026.

The proposed change would align the timing of these assessments with prevailing roll conventions across European gas hub assessments. Platts proposes amending the roll methodology such that DES NWE, MED and EMM assessments would roll on the first day of each calendar month unless that day is not a business day, in which case the price assessments roll on the following business day, while adhering to the UK holiday calendar. This is as opposed to the current roll timing on the 16th of each calendar month, or the next business day if the 16th falls on a holiday.

For example, assessments published up to the last business day of September would reflect October delivery. Therefore, on Aug. 17, the assessments would continue reflecting September, and would roll only on the first business day of September to reflect October delivery. On the first business day of October, the front-month assessment would roll to reflect November delivery.

Platts would continue to publish DES NWE, MED and EMM LNG assessments that reflect cargo delivery in the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth half-month cycles from the date of publication.

The DES Northwest Europe LNG derivative assessments would also roll on the first day of each calendar month, unless that day is not a business day, in which case the price assessments roll on the following business day.

Therefore, the Platts NWE pricing month derivative and balance-month next-day would be published from the first day of each calendar month, or the next business day if that day is a holiday, of M-2 through to the sixth last publishing day of M-1, where M is the month of delivery. For example, Platts would publish the NWE pricing month November 2026 derivative from Oct. 1, 2026, to Nov. 23, 2026.

This reflects observed financial trading patterns, where LNG market participants typically shift prompt exposure approximately one week ahead of expiry of the relevant underlying gas hub contract.

This proposed change reflects evolving European LNG market dynamics and the increasing interaction between LNG pricing and European gas hub markets. Aligning the roll methodology with European gas hub assessment conventions aims to improve transparency, enhance consistency between physical LNG and regional gas pricing, and better reflect prevailing market pricing and hedging practices used by participants. Full details of the existing Platts DES NWE LNG assessments can be found in the Global LNG Specifications Guide, available here .

Please send all feedback, comments and questions to lngeditorialteam@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com by July 10, 2026.

For written comments, please provide a clear indication if comments are not intended for publication by Platts for public viewing. Platts will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available upon request.