US liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports dropped in the week ending March 20 compared to the week before mostly due to lower volumes being sent from the Freeport LNG terminal in Texas.
The US Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that 21 LNG carriers departed the US plants between March 14 and March 20, five shipments less compared to the week before.
Citing shipping data provided by Bloomberg Finance, the agency said the total capacity of these LNG vessels is 78 Bcf.
Natural gas deliveries to US terminals down 2.8 percent
Average natural gas deliveries to US LNG export terminals decreased 2.8 percent (0.4 Bcf/d) week over week, averaging 12.9 Bcf/d, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights.
Natural gas deliveries to terminals in South Louisiana decreased by 2 percent (0.2 Bcf/d) to 8.8 Bcf/d, while natural gas deliveries to terminals in Texas decreased 6.8 percent (0.2 Bcf/d) to 2.9 Bcf/d.
Freeport LNG has been operating at reduced levels since mid-January following a winter storm and anticipates operating with only one liquefaction train until May, the agency noted.
The LNG terminal operator told LNG Prime on Wednesday that its third train is currently online and producing LNG, while the “train 2 liquefaction unit is now offline and our train 1 liquefaction unit will be taken down imminently.”
Natural gas deliveries to terminals outside the Gulf Coast were flat at 1.2 Bcf/d, the agency said.
Cheniere’s Sabine Pass plant shipped eight cargoes and the company’s Corpus Christi facility sent four shipments during the week under review.
Sempra Infrastructure’s Cameron LNG terminal also shipped four cargoes during the period, while Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass LNG terminal and the Cove Point terminal each sent two cargoes.
The Freeport LNG terminal sent only one cargo and the Elba Island terminal did not ship cargoes during the week under review.
Henry Hub climbs to $1.57/MMBtu
This report week, the Henry Hub spot price rose 33 cents from $1.24 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) last Wednesday to $1.57/MMBtu this Wednesday.
The agency said the price of the April 2024 NYMEX contract increased 4.1 cents, from $1.658/MMBtu last Wednesday to $1.699/MMBtu this Wednesday.
Also, the price of the 12-month strip averaging April 2024 through March 2025 futures contracts increased 2.1 cents to $2.709/MMBtu.
TTF averaged $8.84/MMBtu
The agency said that international natural gas futures increased this report week.
Bloomberg Finance reported that weekly average front-month futures prices for LNG cargoes in East Asia increased 82 cents to a weekly average of $9.27/MMBtu.
Natural gas futures for delivery at the Dutch TTF increased 70 cents to a weekly average of $8.84/MMBtu.
In the same week last year (week ending March 22, 2023), the prices were $13.24/MMBtu in East Asia and $13.14/MMBtu at TTF, the agency said.