US liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports dropped in the week ending May 22 compared to the week before, according to the Energy Information Administration.
The agency said in its weekly report that 23 LNG carriers departed the US plants between May 16 and May 22, five shipments less compared to the week before.
Citing shipping data provided by Bloomberg Finance, the EIA said the total capacity of these LNG vessels is 84 Bcf.
Natural gas deliveries to US terminals slightly up
Average natural gas deliveries to US LNG export terminals increased less than 0.1 Bcf/d from last week to 12.8 Bcf/d, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights.
Natural gas deliveries to terminals in South Louisiana increased by 1.7 percent (0.1 Bcf/d) to 7.5 Bcf/d, while natural gas deliveries to terminals in South Texas decreased 2.4 percent (0.1 Bcf/d) to 4 Bcf/d.
The agency said that natural gas deliveries to terminals outside the Gulf Coast increased 0.5 % (less than 0.1 Bcf/d) to 1.2 Bcf/d.
Cheniere’s Sabine Pass plant shipped seven cargoes and the company’s Corpus Christi facility sent four shipments during the week under review.
The Freeport LNG terminal shipped five cargoes while Venture Global LNG’s Calcasieu Pass facility, Sempra Infrastructure’s Cameron LNG terminal, and the Elba Island facility each shipped two cargoes during the period.
Also, the Cove Point facility sent one cargo during the week under review.
Freeport LNG, the operator of the 15 mtpa liquefaction plant in Texas, told LNG Prime last week it has resumed operations at all of its three liquefaction trains.
The LNG terminal operator said on March 20 that only the third liquefaction train was operating.
Since then, the plant has been shipping about one LNG cargo per week.
Compared to the week before, Freeport LNG sent one cargo more while the Sabine Pass LNG plant shipped three cargoes less and the Calcasieu Pass plant sent two cargoes less.
Henry Hub highest since January
This report week, the Henry Hub spot price rose 36 cents from $2.15 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) last Wednesday to $2.51/MMBtu this Wednesday.
The agency said this price is the highest price at the Henry Hub since January of this year and two cents below the 2023 annual average.
Moreover, the price of the June 2024 NYMEX contract increased 42.6 cents, from $2.416/MMBtu last Wednesday to $2.842/MMBtu this Wednesday.
According to the agency, the price of the 12-month strip averaging June 2024 through May 2025 futures contracts climbed 27.7 cents to $3.326/MMBtu.
TTF averaged $10.20/MMBtu
The agency said that international natural gas futures were mixed this report week.
Bloomberg Finance reported that weekly average front-month futures prices for LNG cargoes in East Asia increased $1.04/MMBtu to a weekly average of $11.50/MMBtu.
Natural gas futures for delivery at the Dutch TTF increased 69 cents to a weekly average of $10.20/MMBtu.
In the same week last year (week ending May 24, 2023), the prices were $9.73/MMBtu in East Asia and $9.27/MMBtu at TTF, the agency said.