* North West Shelf March cargo seen around $5 FOB

* US gas futures still above UK prices

By Edward McAllister

NEW YORK, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Spot prices of liquefied natural gas for March delivery were seen slipping this week as spring approached for northern hemisphere importers, analysts and traders said Friday.

Prices typically fall around this time of year, when demand in the large LNG importers Japan and Korea, as well as in Europe, eases toward the end of winter.

A tender for at least three cargoes from the North West Shelf venture in Australia, for delivery in March through May, has attracted the likes of BP, BG and Mitsui, with potential deals seen at a discount to deals sealed in January and February, sources said.

A March cargo was sold for $5-$5.50 per million British thermal units FOB, sources said, possibly priced off British NBP futures. Depending where the cargo is delivered, the landed price could be around $6.50 per mmBtu, off slightly from recent deals seen from the Middle East.

In recent weeks, one cargo from Abu Dhabi's ADGAS for February delivery went for about $6.50 FOB. Highs for the winter hit around $8 mmBtu DES in January.

A recession-driven fall in global gas demand saw spot LNG prices tumble last year to around $4 per mmBtu from record highs of around $22 in 2008. However, spot demand and prices picked up in the second half of 2009, bolstered in part by increased imports into Britain, Belgium, China and India.

Chinese imports of LNG hit near record highs in January, almost quadrupling last January's imports. [ID:nSGE61O037]

Despite a recent price uptick in demand, the market is expected to remain amply supplied in 2010 as new production in Russia, Yemen, Indonesia and Qatar comes online and gas demand remains relatively weak.

Qatari LNG producer Rasgas this week said that it had begun production at its massive 7.8 million tonne per year Train 7. [ID:nLDE61N13V]

More LNG is expected to be available in the Atlantic Basin for the United States and Europe to absorb, as less cargoes are sucked into the Pacific where demand and prices have traditionally been strongest.

As winter ends, more and more LNG is expected to head to the United States where gas prices are currently above those in Britain, offering a more attractive netback for shippers.

"With each passing month and as warmer weather nears, the chances of monthly import levels increasing incrementally over the previous month rises dramatically," said Waterborne LNG analysts in a note late Thursday.

On Friday, U.S. gas prices for April delivery were around $4.77 per mmBtu, about a 10-cent premium to U.K. prices. For May, the spread was around 16 cents.

Higher gas prices in the U.S. versus Britain has helped attract increased volumes so far this year. Estimated first-quarter imports are expected to be about 23 percent above year-ago levels and 30 percent above the same period in 2008, according to Waterborne figures.

The U.S. northeast has seen the most action, with both the Everett terminal and Excelerate Energy's Northeast Gateway in Boston taking regular cargoes, as well as the Canaport terminal in New Brunswick, Canada, sending gas south in the Northeast United States.

(Reporting by Edward McAllister; Editing by Rebekah Kebede) ((Edward.mcallister@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 6221; Reuters Messaging:edward.mcallister.reuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: MARKETS/LNG