The US exported fewer LNG cargoes in the week ending September 15, while the Henry Hub spot gas price increased due to a tightening natural gas market.
The Energy Information Administration said in its weekly natural gas report that the US exported 16 LNG shipments between September 9 and September 15.
This compares to 20 LNG cargoes during the prior week.
Six US terminals exported the 16 cargoes during the week under review. The total capacity of LNG vessels carrying these cargoes is 56 Bcf, compared to 74 Bcf in the week before.
Moreover, Cheniere’s Sabine Pass plant dispatched five cargoes, while its Corpus Christi plant sent four cargoes.
Freeport sent three cargoes while Cameron dispatched two cargoes. The Cove Point facility and Elba Island sent one cargo, each.
This report week, the Henry Hub spot price rose from $4.78/MMBtu last Wednesday to $5.60/MMBtu two days ago.
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) reported production from the offshore Gulf of Mexico was approximately 0.8 Bcf/d higher this Wednesday compared with last Wednesday, but it was still almost 0.9 Bcf/d below levels reported before Hurricane Ida, the agency said.
The landfall of Hurricane Nicholas on Monday, September 13, delayed recovery efforts along the Gulf Coast, causing widespread power outages in Texas and flooding in Louisiana.
Despite decreased production, IHS Markit estimates feed gas to LNG export facilities in Louisiana increased week over week, rising 0.4 Bcf/d to 6.2 Bcf/d, EIA said.
Natural gas deliveries to all US LNG export facilities averaged 10.4 Bcf/d, or 0.44 Bcf/d lower than last week.
Spot LNG price, TTF continue to rise
Prices are also rapidly rising internationally. Bloomberg Finance reports swap prices for October LNG cargoes in East Asia rose to a weekly average of $18.69/MMBtu this report week, exceeding the previous record set in January of this year, the agency said.
At the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF), the most liquid European natural gas spot market, prices averaged $17.96/MMBtu this report week.
This marked the highest weekly average on record going back to September 2007, up $2.56/MMBtu from $15.40/MMBtu last week, EIA said.
In the same week last year (week ending September 16, 2020) average prices in East Asia and at TTF were at $4.34/MMBtu and $3.11/MMBtu, respectively, the agency said.
