US liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports decreased in the week ending December 20 compared to the week before, according to the Energy Information Administration.
The agency said in its weekly natural gas report that 22 LNG carriers departed the US plants between December 14 and December 20, six vessels less compared to the week before.
Moreover, the total capacity of these LNG vessels is 82 Bcf, the EIA said, citing shipping data provided by Bloomberg Finance.
Natural gas deliveries to US terminals
Average natural gas deliveries to US LNG export terminals were essentially unchanged week over week, averaging 14.6 Bcf/d, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights.
Natural gas deliveries to terminals in South Louisiana increased by 1 percent (0.1 Bcf/d) to 9.1 Bcf/d, while natural gas deliveries to terminals in South Texas increased by 2 percent (0.1 Bcf/d) to 4.3 Bcf/d.
The agency said that natural gas deliveries to terminals outside the Gulf Coast were essentially unchanged at 1.2 Bcf/d.
Cheniere’s Sabine Pass plant shipped eight cargoes and the company’s Corpus Christi facility sent four shipments during the period under review.
The Freeport LNG terminal shipped four cargoes, and Sempra Infrastructure’s Cameron LNG terminal shipped three cargoes during the week under review.
Also, the Cove Point LNG terminal shipped two cargoes, and Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass shipped one cargo.
The Elba Island LNG facility did not ship cargoes during the week under review.
One LNG vessel with a carrying capacity of 3 Bcf docked for off-loading at the Everett LNG terminal in Boston Harbor in Massachusetts between December 13 and December 20, the agency said.
Henry Hub climbs to $2.49/MMBtu
This report week, the Henry Hub spot price rose 16 cents from $2.33 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) last Wednesday to $2.49/MMBtu this Wednesday, the agency said.
Moreover, the price of the January 2024 NYMEX contract increased 11.2 cents, from $2.335/MMBtu last Wednesday to $2.447/MMBtu this Wednesday.
According to the agency, the price of the 12-month strip averaging January 2024 through December 2024 futures contracts increased slightly to $2.564/MMBtu.
TTF down
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 decreased $2.47 to a weekly average of $13.30/MMBtu.
Natural gas futures for delivery at the Dutch TTF decreased 84 cents to a weekly average of $10.89/MMBtu.
In the same week last year (week ending December 21, 2022), the prices were $34.420MBtu in East Asia and $34.99/MMBtu at TTF, the EIA said.