South Korea was top destination for US LNG shipments in August

The DOE report shows that US terminals shipped 42.7 Bcf to South Korea (11.8 percent), 37.5 Bcf to the Netherlands (10.3 percent), 30.3 Bcf to Japan (8.3 percent), 25.9 Bcf to China (7.1 percent), and 24.9 Bcf to India (6.8 percent).

These five countries took 44.4 percent of total US LNG exports in August.

In July, China was the top destination for US LNG cargoes. In June, South Korea was the top destination, and India was the top destination in May when Asia overtook Europe as the main destination for US LNG supplies.

Before that, Dutch and French LNG import terminals were the top destinations for US LNG supplies in March and April.

According to DOE’s data, the Netherlands was the top destination for US LNG supplies in January-August with 324.6 Bcf or 97 cargoes, down by 22 percent year-on-year, while France took 224.6 Bcf or 69 cargoes, down by 27 percent year-on-year.

In 2023, the Netherlands was also the prime destination for US LNG cargoes with 588.6 Bcf, followed by France with 493.2 Bcf.

August LNG exports climb

The US exported 363.6 Bcf of LNG in August to 35 countries, up by 3 percent compared to the same month in 2023 and a rise of 12.3 percent from the prior month, the DOE report shows.

Asia received 165.1 Bcf (45.4 percent), Europe 141.6 Bcf (38.9 percent), Latin America/ Caribbean 42.3 Bcf (11.6 percent), and Africa 14.7 Bcf (11.6 percent).

The DOE said that 79.6 percent of total LNG exports went to non-free trade agreement countries, while the remaining 20.4 percent went to free trade agreement countries.

Moreover, US terminals shipped 120 LNG cargoes in August, a rise from 104 LNG cargoes in July.

Cheniere’s Sabine Pass plant sent 36 cargoes, and its Corpus Christi terminal shipped 22 cargoes, while the Freeport LNG terminal sent 21 cargoes.

Sempra’s Cameron LNG plant shipped 20 cargoes, Venture Global’s Calcasieu plant sent 12 cargoes, the Cove Point LNG terminal dispatched 7 shipments, and Elba Island LNG sent 4 cargoes during the month under review.

The DOE also noted that NFE’s Altamira LNG terminal in Mexico shipped one cargo in August. This project receives feed gas from the US and Mexico.

Average price at 5.59/MMBtu

According to DOE’s report, the average price by export terminal reached 5.59/MMBtu in August.

This compares to 6.21/MMBtu in August 2023, while the average price was 6.47/MMBtu in July, 6.32/MMBtu in June, 5.41/MMBtu in May, 5.25/MMBtu in April, $5.47/MMBtu in March, $6.31/MMBtu in February, and 6.63/MMBtu in January this year.

The most expensive average price in August came from Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass terminal, and it reached $8.69/MMBtu.

Prices at other facilities ranged between $2.77/MMBtu (Elba Island) to $6.56/MMBtu (Altamira), the data shows.

6573 cargoes

The report said that from February 2016 through August 2024, the US exported 6573 cargoes or 20,776.3 Bcf to 41 countries.

The DOE data shows that South Korea remains the top destination for US LNG, with 641 cargoes, followed by Japan with 525 cargoes, France with 524 cargoes, the Netherlands with 486 cargoes, and the UK with 473 cargoes.

In addition to these five countries, Spain, China, India, Turkiye, and Brazil are in the top ten.