Dutch and French LNG import terminals remained the top destinations for US liquefied natural gas supplies in April, 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 47.5 Bcf of LNG to the Netherlands in April, 37.7 Bcf to France, 22.2 Bcf to Japan, 21.5 Bcf to Germany, and 20.8 Bcf to India.
These five countries took 49.3 percent of total US LNG exports in April.
France and the Netherlands were also the top destinations for US LNG cargoes in March.
According to DOE’s data, the Netherlands was the top destination for US LNG supplies in January-April with 192 Bcf or 57 cargoes, down by 3 percent year-on-year, while France took 175.7 Bcf or 53 cargoes, up by 13 percent year-on-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 LNG exports drop
The US exported in total 303.8 Bcf of LNG in April to 27 countries, down by 19.2 percent compared to the same month in 2023 and a drop of 17.9 percent from the prior month, the DOE report shows.
Europe received 157.3 Bcf or 51.8 percent of these volumes. The percentage of US monthly LNG supplies to Europe shrank in April from about 60 percent in the prior month and from 71.6 percent in January this year as more volumes head to Asia and Latin America/Caribbean.
Asia received 113.8 Bcf or 37.5 percent of US LNG volumes in April, and Latin America/Caribbean received 32.7 Bcf or 10.8 percent.
The DOE said that 84.4 percent of total April LNG exports went to non-free trade agreement countries, while the remaining 15.6 percent went to free trade agreement countries.
US terminals shipped 105 LNG cargoes in April, down from 119 LNG cargoes in March.
Cheniere’s Sabine Pass plant sent 35 cargoes and its Corpus Christi terminal shipped 18 cargoes, while Sempra’s Cameron LNG plant sent 22 shipments and Venture Global’s Calcasieu plant sent 11 cargoes.
The Freeport LNG terminal sent only 6 cargoes in April as it was operating with only one train, while Elba Island LNG sent 5 cargoes, and Cove Point LNG dispatched 8 shipments.
Average price
According to DOE’s report, the average price by export terminal reached 5.25/MMBtu in April, and this compares to $6.58 in April 2023, while the average price was $5.47/MMBtu in March, $6.31/MMBtu in February, and 6.63/MMBtu in January this year.
The most expensive average price in April comes from Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass terminal and it reached $7.82/MMBtu.
Prices at other facilities ranged between $4.03-$5.93/MMBtu, the data shows.
6109 cargoes
The report said that in the period from February 2016 through April 2024, the US exported 6109 cargoes or 19,365.1 Bcf to 41 countries.
The DOE data shows that South Korea remains the top destination for US LNG with 601 cargoes, and the country is followed by Japan with 485 cargoes, France with 508 cargoes, the UK with 463 cargoes, and the Netherlands with 446 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.