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The DOE report shows that US terminals shipped 68.6 Bcf to Turkiye (16.7 percent), 57 Bcf to the UK (13.9 percent), 42.6 Bcf to France (10.4 percent), 33.2 Bcf to Spain (8.1 percent), and 28.3 Bcf to the Netherlands (6.9 percent) in December.
These five countries took 55.9 percent of total US LNG exports in December.
LNG import terminals in Turkiye and the UK were the top destinations for US LNG cargoes in November 2024, France was the top destination for US LNG supplies in October, while the Netherlands was the top destination for US LNG cargoes in September.
According to DOE’s data, the Netherlands was the top destination for US LNG supplies in 2024 with 463.8 Bcf or 139 cargoes, down by 21 percent year-on-year, while France took 354.8 Bcf or 108 cargoes, down by 28 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.
December LNG exports drop
The DOE report shows that the US exported 410.8 Bcf of LNG to 33 countries in December 2024, down 2.9 percent from the same month in 2023 and down 9.2 percent compared to the prior month.
In September, Europe again became the preferred destination for US LNG cargoes, and this remained the case in October, November, and December.
Europe received 299.2 Bcf (72.8 percent), Asia 72.4 Bcf (17.6 percent), Latin America/ Caribbean 25 Bcf (6.1 percent), and Africa 14.1 Bcf (3.4 percent) in December.
DOE said that 91.4 percent of total LNG exports went to non-free trade agreement countries, while the remaining 8.6 percent went to free trade agreement countries.
Moreover, US terminals shipped 134 LNG cargoes in December, up from 122 cargoes in November.
Cheniere’s Sabine Pass plant sent 41 cargoes, and its Corpus Christi terminal shipped 21 cargoes, while Sempra’s Cameron LNG plant shipped 25 cargoes.
The Freeport LNG terminal sent 21 cargoes, Venture Global’s Calcasieu plant sent 11 cargoes, the Cove Point LNG terminal dispatched 9 shipments, Elba Island LNG sent 4 cargoes, and Venture Global’s Plaquemines LNG plant sent two cargoes during the month under review.
The DOE also noted that NFE’s Altamira LNG terminal in Mexico shipped two cargoes in December 2024. This project receives feed gas from the US and Mexico.
Average price at 7.38/MMBtu
According to DOE’s report, the average price by export terminal reached 7.38/MMBtu in December.
This compares to 6.68/MMBtu in December 2023, while the average price was 6.45/MMBtu in November, 6.61/MMBtu in October, 5.86/MMBtu in September, 5.55/MMBtu in August, 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 last year.
The most expensive average price in December came from Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass terminal, and it reached $12.18/MMBtu, followed by Plaquemines LNG with $11.24/MMBtu.
Prices at other facilities ranged between $4.87/MMBtu (Elba Island) to $7.81/MMBtu (Freeport LNG), the data shows.
7066 cargoes
The report said that from February 2016 through December 2024, the US exported 7066 cargoes or 22,302 Bcf to 42 countries.
The DOE data shows that South Korea remains the top destination for US LNG, with 666 cargoes, followed by Japan with 558 cargoes, France with 565 cargoes, the Netherlands with 528 cargoes, and the UK with 511 cargoes.
In addition to these five countries, Spain, China, India, Turkiye, and Brazil are in the top ten.