US liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports dropped in the week ending March 29, while the Henry Hub spot price fell as well when compared to the week before, according to the Energy Information Administration.
The EIA said in its weekly natural gas report that 20 LNG carriers departed the US plants between March 23 and March 29, seven shipments less when compared to the week before.
Also, the total capacity of LNG vessels carrying these cargoes is 76 Bcf, it said.
Overall natural gas deliveries to US LNG export terminals were unchanged this week at 13 Bcf/d, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights.
Natural gas deliveries to terminals in South Louisiana decreased by 3.4 percent (0.3 Bcf/d) to 8.1 Bcf/d, while deliveries to South Texas terminals increased by 9 percent (0.3 Bcf/d) to 3.7 Bcf/d.
The agency said that natural gas deliveries to terminals in the Northeast were unchanged.
Cheniere’s Sabine Pass plant shipped seven cargoes and its Corpus Christi facility sent four shipments during the week under review.
Sempra’s Cameron LNG and the Freeport LNG plant each sent three cargoes, the EIA said, citing shipping data by Bloomberg Finance.
Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass LNG plant, the Cove Point LNG facility, and the Elba Island terminal each shipped one cargo, according to the data.
Everett LNG import terminal
One LNG vessel with a carrying capacity of 3 Bcf docked for offloading at the Everett LNG terminal in Boston Harbor in Massachusetts between March 23 and March 29, according to shipping data provided by Bloomberg Finance.
This delivery is the seventh to the terminal this winter heating season, the agency said.
Henry Hub down to $1.95 per MMBtu
This report week, the Henry Hub spot price dropped 9 cents from $2.04 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) last Wednesday to $1.95/MMBtu this Wednesday, the agency said.
Moreover, the April 2023 NYMEX contract expired this Wednesday at $1.991/MMBtu, down 18 cents from last Wednesday.
The last time the front month NYMEX contract settled below $2.00/MMBtu was on September 22, 2020, when it settled at $1.834/MMBtu, the agency said.
The May 2023 NYMEX contract price decreased to $2.184/MMBtu, down 12 cents from last Wednesday to this Wednesday.
According to the agency, the price of the 12-month strip averaging May 2023 through April 2024 futures contracts declined 5 cents to $3.083/MMBtu.
TTF climbs
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 fell 51 cents to a weekly average of $12.72/MMBtu.
Natural gas futures for delivery at the Dutch TTF rose 33 cents to a weekly average of $13.47/MMBtu, the agency said.
In the same week last year (week ending March 30, 2022), the prices were $34.22/MMBtu in East Asia and $35.16/MMBtu at TTF, it said.