US LNG exports rose in the week ending January 5, while the Henry Hub spot price logged an increase as well when compared to the week before, according to the Energy Information Administration.
The agency said in its weekly natural gas report that the US has exported 24 LNG shipments between December 30 and January 5, rising by three cargoes when compared to the week before.
Natural gas deliveries to LNG export facilities averaged 11.9 Bcf/d, 0.5 Bcf/d lower than last week.
Six US terminals exported the 24 cargoes during the week under review. The total capacity of LNG vessels carrying these cargoes is 88 Bcf.
Cheniere’s Sabine Pass plant dispatched seven cargoes, while its Corpus Christi plant sent five shipments. The Freeport terminal also sent five cargoes, Cameron four, and Cove Point two. Elba Island also sent one cargo.
Henry Hub spot price rose this week
This report week, the Henry Hub spot price rose from a weekly low of $3.40/MMBtu last Wednesday to a weekly high of $3.79/MMBtu this Wednesday.
Temperatures throughout the South declined rapidly this week. The rapid drop in temperatures resulted in natural gas demand in the region rising week over week, the agency said.
IHS Markit estimates for average weekly natural gas consumption in Texas rose by 1.9 Bcf/d (19 percent) this report week, led by a 1.1 Bcf/d increase in the residential and commercial sector. Production in inland Texas fell as a result of the low temperatures and well freeze-offs.
Lower feed gas deliveries to Gulf Coast LNG terminals offset some of the rise in regional demand, EIA said.
After reaching an all-time high in the report week ending December 22, averaging 11.3 Bcf/d, feed gas deliveries to Gulf Coast LNG export terminals fell to 11.2 Bcf/d in the last report week of December and to 10.7 Bcf/d this report week as a result of dense fog along the Gulf Coast, which reduced shipping activity in ports as far apart as Corpus Christi in Texas and the Sabine/Neches waterway in Louisiana, it said.
LNG prices, TTF down
International natural gas prices fell this report week, EIA said.
Bloomberg Finance reported that swap prices for LNG cargoes in East Asia for the balance of January fell $10.47 to a weekly average of $32.79/MMBtu, after setting a new weekly average price record high of $43.26/MMBtu in the previous week.
At the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF), the day-ahead price declined for the second week in a row to a weekly average of $26.51/MMBtu.
Weekly average prices at TTF set an all-time record high two weeks ago, reaching $51.18/MMBtu—the highest weekly average on record going back to September 2007, the agency said.
Daily prices that week set even higher records, reaching $60.29/MMBtu on December 21. In the same week last year (week ending January 6, 2021), prices in East Asia and at TTF were $14.24/MMBtu and $6.69/MMBtu, respectively, it said.