France was top destination for US LNG supplies in October

The DOE report shows that US terminals shipped 43.1 Bcf to France (11.5 percent), 30 to Bcf Japan (8 percent), 28.8 Bcf to the Netherlands (7.6 percent), 27.4 Bcf to India (7.3 percent), and 24.1 Bc to Turkiye (6.4 percent).

These five countries took 40.8 percent of total US LNG exports in October.

In September, the Netherlands was the top destination for US LNG cargoes.

Before that, South Korea was the top destination in August, while China was the top destination in July.

In June, South Korea was again the top destination, and India was the top destination in May when Asia overtook Europe as the main destination for US LNG supplies.

Dutch and French LNG import terminals were the top destinations for US LNG supplies in March and April.

According to DOE’s data, the Netherlands was the top destination for US LNG supplies in January-October with 402.2.4 Bcf or 120 cargoes, down by 20 percent year-on-year, while France took 292.1 Bcf or 90 cargoes, down by 26 percent year-on-year.

In 2023, the Netherlands was also the prime destination for US LNG cargoes with 588.6 Bcf, followed by France with 493.2 Bcf.

October LNG exports down

The DOE report shows that the US exported 376.2 Bcf of LNG to 32 countries in October, down 2.1 percent from the same month last year and a rise of 3.6 percent compared to the prior month.

In September, Europe again became the preferred destination for US LNG cargoes and this remained the case in October.

Europe received 194.8 Bcf (51.8 percent), Asia 127.5 Bcf (33.9 percent), Latin America/Caribbean 32.3 Bcf (8.6 percent), and Africa 21.7 Bcf (8.6 percent).

DOE said that 88.6 percent of total LNG exports went to non-free trade agreement countries, while the remaining 11.4 percent went to free trade agreement countries.

Moreover, US terminals shipped 120 LNG cargoes in October, the same as in the prior month.

Cheniere’s Sabine Pass plant sent 39 cargoes, and its Corpus Christi terminal shipped 20 cargoes, while the Freeport LNG terminal sent 21 cargoes.

Sempra’s Cameron LNG plant shipped 20 cargoes, Venture Global’s Calcasieu plant sent 12 cargoes, the Cove Point LNG terminal dispatched 5 shipments, and Elba Island LNG sent 2 cargoes during the month under review.

The DOE also noted that NFE’s Altamira LNG terminal in Mexico shipped one cargo in October. This project receives feed gas from the US and Mexico.

Average price at 6.61/MMBtu

According to DOE’s report, the average price by export terminal reached 6.61/MMBtu in October.

This compares to 6.81/MMBtu in October 2023, while the average price was 5.86/MMBtu in September, 5.55/MMBtu in August, 6.47/MMBtu in July, 6.32/MMBtu in June, 5.41/MMBtu in May, 5.25/MMBtu in April, $5.47/MMBtu in March, $6.31/MMBtu in February, and 6.63/MMBtu in January this year.

The most expensive average price in October came from Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass terminal, and it reached $11.32/MMBtu.

Prices at other facilities ranged between $2.74/MMBtu (Elba Island) to $6.61/MMBtu (Corpus Christi), the data shows.

6808 cargoes

The report said that from February 2016 through October 2024, the US exported 6808 cargoes or 21,515.3 Bcf to 41 countries.

The DOE data shows that South Korea remains the top destination for US LNG, with 657 cargoes, followed by Japan with 543 cargoes, France with 545 cargoes, the Netherlands with 509 cargoes, and the UK with 479 cargoes.

France took more cargoes but fewer volumes than Japan.

In addition to these five countries, Spain, China, India, Turkiye, and Brazil are in the top ten.