US LNG exports dropped to six cargoes in the week ending September 2 with feed gas deliveries to liquefaction plants also down to 2.8 billion cubic feet due to Hurricane Laura.
Laura made landfall on August 27 near the Texas-Louisiana border as a strong Category 4 storm, one of the most powerful storms to ever hit the region.
Cheniere’s Sabine Pass plant and Sempra’s Cameron facility were located in the direct path of the hurricane with both facilities suspending operations and implementing a controlled shutdown.
The Energy Information Agency agency said in its weekly gas natural gas report that three US terminals dispatched the six cargoes during the week August 27-September 2.
The total capacity of the LNG vessels carrying these cargoes is 21 bcf. This compares to seven cargoes with a capacity of 26 bcf the week before.
Cheniere’s Corpus Christi plant dispatched three cargoes while the Dominion Cove Point facility shipped two cargoes during the week under review.
Elba Island in Georgia also shipped one cargo, the first one since January 2020.
Furthermore, the Henry Hub spot price dropped from $2.19 per million British thermal units last Wednesday to $2.51/MMBtu recorded this Wednesday.
May take weeks to recover
The US LNG exports have been low for months as the Covid-19 pandemic destroyed global demand pushing down prices to recrod lows.
But now Laura has added further pressure to US LNG exporters and it may take weeks for affected plants to recover to pre-Hurricane levels, EIA said.
LNG pipeline receipts increased in August by 30% compared to July and averaged 4.3 Bcf/d before Laura made landfall on August 27.
Due to Laura, Sabine Pass and Cameron facilities did not load any cargoes since August 23.
Cheniere has slowly started to restart operations at Sabine Pass and re-routed some loadings to Corpus Chiristi but Cameron LNG could be offline for weeks.
Damage to electric transmission infrastructure near Cameron LNG could delay the restart of exports from the terminal for up to three weeks in September, EIA said.
