US LNG exports dropped in the week ending February 23, while the Henry Hub spot price logged a rise when compared to the week before, according to the Energy Information Administration.
The agency said in its weekly natural gas report that the US has exported 18 LNG shipments between February 17 and February 23, down by five cargoes when compared to the week before.
Natural gas deliveries to LNG export facilities averaged 11.9 Bcf/d, or 0.9 Bcf/d lower than last week.
Four out of six large US terminals exported the 18 cargoes during the week under review. The total capacity of LNG vessels carrying these cargoes is 67 Bcf.
Cheniere’s Sabine Pass plant dispatched six cargoes, while its Corpus Christi plant sent five shipments. The Cameron terminal sent four shipments, while Freeport dispatched three cargoes.
“Loadings may have been affected this week by fog and winter weather conditions that caused piloting services to be suspended for several days on the Sabine Pass and Lake Charles (the location of Cameron LNG) waterways,” EIA said.
Henry Hub spot climbs to $4.57/MMBtu
This report week, the Henry Hub spot price rose from $4.39/MMBtu last Wednesday to $4.57/MMBtu this Wednesday.
Prices across much of the Southeast also rose. According to reports by IHS Markit, natural gas consumption for electricity generation in South Texas increased by almost 10 percent this report week as temperatures along the Texas Gulf Coast were warmer than normal.
On Monday, the temperature reached a high of 83°F (28.3°C) in Houston, Texas.
TTF above Asian LNG prices
According to the agency, international natural gas prices were mixed this report week.
Bloomberg Finance reported that swap prices for LNG cargoes in East Asia for the balance of February fell $0.43 to a weekly average of $24.39/MMBtu from $24.82/MMBtu last week.
At the Dutch TTF, the day-ahead prices rose $1.26 to a weekly average of $25.72/MMBtu, bringing the TTF price back above the price in East Asia.
In the same week last year, week ending February 24, 2021, prices in East Asia and at TTF were $6.29/MMBtu and $5.80/MMBtu, respectively, EIA said.
