US liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports dropped in the week ending October 11 compared to the week before, according to the Energy Information Administration.
The agency said in its weekly natural gas report that 20 LNG carriers departed the US plants between October 5 and October 11, one vessel less compared to the week before.
Moreover, the total capacity of these LNG vessels is 73 Bcf, the EIA said, citing shipping data provided by Bloomberg Finance.
Average natural gas deliveries to US LNG export terminals increased by 2 percent (0.3 Bcf/d) week over week, averaging 12.7 Bcf/d, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights.
Natural gas deliveries to terminals in South Louisiana increased by 4.9 percent (0.4 Bcf/d) to 8.6 Bcf/d, while deliveries to terminals in South Texas decreased by 4.4 percent (0.2 Bcf/d) to 3.8 Bcf/d.
The agency said that natural gas deliveries to terminals outside the Gulf Coast were essentially unchanged at 0.3 Bcf/d.
The Cove Point LNG terminal has completed its annual maintenance.
Cheniere’s Sabine Pass plant shipped eight cargoes and the company’s Corpus Christi facility sent three shipments during the week under review.
The Freeport LNG terminal and Sempra Infrastructure’s Cameron LNG terminal each sent three LNG cargoes and Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass shipped two cargoes.
Also, the Elba Island LNG terminal shipped one LNG cargo this week.
Henry Hub climbs
This report week, the Henry Hub spot price rose 27 cents from $2.91 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) last Wednesday to $3.18/MMBtu this Wednesday, the agency said.
The Henry Hub spot price rose above $3/MMBtu for the first time since January of this year, it said.
Moreover, the price of the November 2023 NYMEX contract increased 41.5 cents, from $2.962/MMBtu last Wednesday to $3.377/MMBtu this Wednesday.
According to the agency, the price of the 12-month strip averaging November 2023 through October 2024 futures contracts climbed 26.9 cents to $3.529/MMBtu.
The NYMEX futures price at the Henry Hub has been steadily increasing since September 21 when the front month contract settled at $2.61/MMBtu, it said.
TTF up
The agency said that international natural gas futures were mixed this report week.
Bloomberg Finance reported that weekly average front-month futures prices for LNG cargoes in East Asia decreased 26 cents to a weekly average of $14.18/MMBtu.
Natural gas futures for delivery at the Dutch TTF increased $1.17 to a weekly average of $13.28/MMBtu, the agency said.
In the same week last year (week ending October 12, 2022), the prices were $34.81/MMBtu in East Asia and $45.83/MMBtu at TTF, the EIA said.