The United Kingdom was the top destination for US liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies in December as Europe continues to receive the majority of volumes produced at US liquefaction plants, according to the Department of Energy’s newest monthly report.
The DOE report shows that US terminals shipped 60.2 Bcf of LNG to the UK in December, 48.7 Bcf to the Netherlands, 42.3 Bcf to Turkiye, 40.7 Bcf to France, and 35.2 Bcf to South Korea.
These five countries took 53.7 percent of total US LNG exports in December.
France was the top destination for US LNG supplies in October and November.
Prior to this, the Netherlands was the top destination for US LNG supplies for five months in a row.
The Netherlands was the number one destination for US LNG supplies during January-December last year and the country is followed by France, the UK, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Germany, Italy, China, and India, the DOE data shows.
US LNG exports rise in 2023
The US exported in total 422.9 Bcf of LNG in December to 32 countries, up by 24 percent compared to the same month in 2022 and a rise of 9 percent from the prior month, the DOE report shows.
Europe received 293.8 Bcf, or 69.5 percent, of these volumes, Asia received 110.5 Bcf, or 26.1 percent, and Latin America/Caribbean received 18.6 Bcf, or 4.4 percent.
US terminals shipped 135 LNG cargoes in December, up from 124 LNG cargoes in November.
Cheniere’s Sabine Pass plant sent 43 cargoes and its Corpus Christi terminal shipped 18 cargoes, while the Freeport LNG terminal and Sempra’s Cameron LNG plant each sent 22 shipments during December.
In addition, Venture Global’s Calcasieu plant sent 16 cargoes, Elba Island LNG sent 6 cargoes, and Cove Point LNG dispatched 8 shipments.
During the January-December period last year, the US exported 4,341.6 Bcf of LNG, a rise of 12 percent compared to 2022.
US plants sent 1,387 LNG cargoes to 37 countries in 2023.
According to DOE’s report, the average price by export terminal reached 6.68/MMBtu in December and 7.28/MMBtu in the January-December period.
5643 cargoes
The report said that in the period from February 2016 through December 2023, the US exported 5643 cargoes or 17,937 Bcf to 41 countries.
The DOE data shows that South Korea remains the top destination for US LNG with 578 cargoes, and the country is followed by Japan with 456 cargoes, France with 456 cargoes, the UK with 435 cargoes, and the Netherlands with 387 cargoes.
Besides these five countries, Spain, China, India, Turkiye, and Brazil are in the top ten as well.