Platts changes the monthly roll timing of DES European LNG assessments

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, has changed 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 change aligns the timing of these assessments with prevailing roll conventions across European gas hub assessments. Platts has amended the roll methodology such that DES NWE, MED and EMM assessments will 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, adhering to the UK holiday calendar.

This replaces the roll timing on the 16th day of each calendar month, or the next business day if the 16th day falls on a holiday.

Assessments will reflect the forward month through to the last business day of the month. For example, August assessments will reflect September delivery through the final business day of August. On the first business day of September, the assessment would roll and reflect October delivery. On the first business day of October, the front-month assessment would then roll to reflect November delivery.

Platts will 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 will 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.

Subsequently, the Platts NWE pricing month derivative and balance-month next-day will 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 will publish the NWE pricing month and balance-month next-day November 2026 derivative from Oct. 1, 2026, to Oct. 23, 2026.

The monthly spreads published between Platts Japan Korea Marker (JKM) and DES NWE LNG derivative assessments, will continue to be aligned on a same-month basis.

For example, on Aug. 17, 2026, the M1 spread will reflect October 2026 JKM/ October 2026 NWE derivatives, M11 spread will reflect August 2027 JKM/ August 2027 NWE derivatives and M12 spread will not be published. On Sep. 1, 2026, the M1 spread will continue to reflect October 2026 JKM/ October 2026 NWE derivatives, M11 spread will reflect August 2027 JKM/ August 2027 NWE derivatives and M12 spread will reflect September 2027 JKM/ September 2027 NWE derivatives.

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 change also 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 Atlantic 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 .

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