US liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports were flat in the week ending May 17, while the Henry Hub spot price rose when compared to the week before, according to the Energy Information Administration.
The EIA said in its weekly natural gas report that 24 LNG carriers departed the US plants between May 11 and May 17, the same number of vessels when compared to the week before.
The agency said that the total capacity of these LNG vessels is 90 Bcf.
Moreover, natural gas deliveries to US LNG export terminals decreased by 0.8 percent, or 0.1 Bcf/d week over week, to average 12.8 Bcf/d this report week, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights.
Natural gas deliveries to terminals in South Louisiana decreased by 1 percent (0.1 Bcf/d) to 7.4 Bcf/d, while natural gas deliveries to all other terminals were essentially unchanged.
Feedgas deliveries to US LNG export terminals on Wednesday were 13 percent (2.0 Bcf/d) lower than the all-time daily high of 14.9 Bcf/d set in mid-April, the agency said.
Demand for feedgas at US export terminals typically declines at this time of year, when exports are seasonally lower, the agency noted.
Cameron LNG Train 2 maintenance
Cheniere’s Sabine Pass plant shipped eight cargoes and its Corpus Christi facility sent three shipments during the week under review.
The Freeport LNG terminal shipped four cargoes, while Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass and Sempra’s Cameron LNG terminal each dispatched three cargoes, the EIA said, citing shipping data by Bloomberg Finance.
Also, the Cove Point LNG terminal shipped two cargoes and Elba Island LNG sent on cargo during the week under review.
Sempra reported that scheduled maintenance on Cameron LNG Train 2 began on April 28.
Natural gas deliveries to Cameron LNG averaged 1.2 Bcf/d this week, about 0.9 Bcf/d lower than the week before maintenance began, data from S&P Global Commodity Insights shows.
Henry Hub up
This report week, the Henry Hub spot price rose 13 cents from $2.12 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) last Wednesday to $2.25/MMBtu this Wednesday, the agency said.
Moreover, the price of the June 2023 NYMEX contract increased 17.4 cents, from $2.191/MMBtu last Wednesday to $2.365/MMBtu this Wednesday.
According to the agency, the price of the 12-month strip averaging June 2023 through May 2024 futures contracts climbed 14.3 cents to $3.060/MMBtu.
TTF drops to $10.44/MMBtu
The agency said that international natural gas futures decreased this report week.
Bloomberg Finance reported that weekly average front-month futures prices for LNG cargoes in East Asia fell 65 cents to a weekly average of $10.62/MMBtu.
Natural gas futures for delivery at the Dutch TTF fell $1.17 to a weekly average of $10.44/MMBtu.
In the same week last year (week ending May 18, 2022), the prices were $21.65/MMBtu in East Asia and $29.72/MMBtu at TTF, the agency said.