French and Dutch LNG import terminals remained the top destinations for US liquefied natural gas supplies in March, as European terminals continue to receive the majority of US LNG volumes, according to the Department of Energy’s newest LNG monthly report.
The DOE report shows that US terminals shipped 60.6 Bcf of LNG to France in March, 57.2 Bcf to the Netherlands, 28.9 Bcf to Japan, 21.8 Bcf to Spain, and 21 Bcf to South Korea.
These five countries took 51.2 percent of total US LNG exports in March.
France was also the top destination for US LNG supplies in February and the country was followed by the Netherlands.
According to DOE’s data, the Netherlands was the top destination for US LNG supplies in January-March.
US terminals shipped 144.5 Bcf or 43 LNG cargoes to the Netherlands in the first quarter of this year. The volumes rose 6 percent compared to last year.
In 2023, the Netherlands was also the the prime destination for US LNG cargoes with 588.6 Bcf, followed by France with 493.2 Bcf.
US terminals shipped 138 Bcf or 42 LNG cargoes to France in the first quarter and the volumes jumped 35 percent compared to the last year.
US LNG exports slightly up
The US exported in total 369.9 Bcf of LNG in March to 30 countries, up by 0.9 percent compared to the same month in 2023 and a rise of 3 percent from the prior month, the DOE report shows.
Europe received 220.1 Bcf or 59.9 percent of these volumes, Asia received 127.3 Bcf or 34.4 percent, and Latin America/Caribbean received 22.5 Bcf or 6.1 percent.
The DOE said that 85.4 percent of total LNG exports went to non-free trade agreement countries (nFTA), while the remaining 14.6 percent went to free trade agreement countries (FTA).
US terminals shipped 119 LNG cargoes in March, up from 116 LNG cargoes in February.
Cheniere’s Sabine Pass plant sent 40 cargoes and its Corpus Christi terminal shipped 18 cargoes, while Sempra’s Cameron LNG plant sent 20 shipments and the Freeport LNG terminal sent 10 cargoes during March.
In addition, Venture Global’s Calcasieu plant sent 14 cargoes, Elba Island LNG sent 7 cargoes, and Cove Point LNG dispatched 10 shipments.
Average price
According to DOE’s report, the average price by export terminal reached 5.47/MMBtu in March, and this compares to $7.67 in March 2023, while the average price was $6.31/MMBtu in February and 6.63/MMBtu in January this year.
The most expensive average price in March comes from Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass terminal and it reached $9.23/MMBtu.
Prices at other facilities ranged between $4.39-$6.01/MMBtu, the data shows.
6004 cargoes
The report said that in the period from February 2016 through March 2024, the US exported 6004 cargoes or 19,067.7 Bcf to 41 countries.
The DOE data shows that South Korea remains the top destination for US LNG with 595 cargoes, and the country is followed by Japan with 478 cargoes, France with 498 cargoes, the UK with 461 cargoes, and the Netherlands with 432 cargoes.
France took more cargoes than Japan but less volumes.
Besides these five countries, Spain, China, India, Turkiye, and Brazil are in the top ten as well.