US liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports dropped in the week ending February 22, while the Henry Hub spot price decreased as well when compared to the week before, according to the Energy Information Administration.
The EIA said in its weekly natural gas report that 22 LNG carriers departed the US plants between February 16 and February 22, four shipments less when compared to the week before.
According to the agency, the total capacity of LNG vessels carrying these cargoes is 82 Bcf.
Overall natural gas deliveries to US LNG export terminals increased by 1 percent (0.1 Bcf/d) week over week to 13.1 Bcf/d, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights.
Natural gas deliveries to terminals in South Louisiana fell by 0.1 Bcf/d to 8.9 Bcf/d, while feedgas deliveries to terminals in Texas increased by 0.2 Bcf/d to 2.9 Bcf/d, the highest weekly average feedgas deliveries to terminals in Texas since the week ending June 11, 2022, the agency said.
Cheniere’s Sabine Pass plant shipped nine cargoes and its Corpus Christi facility sent five shipments during the week under review.
Sempra’s Cameron LNG and Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass LNG plant each sent three cargoes, while the Cove Point facility and the Freeport terminal each dispatched one cargo, the EIA said, citing shipping data by Bloomberg Finance.
Elba Island LNG did not ship any cargoes during the week under review
Freeport LNG is currently restarting the export plant following an incident at the facility that took place on June 8 last year.
The LNG terminal operator secured regulatory approval to launch commercial operations of two trains at its 15 mtpa liquefaction plant in Texas as part of the restart process.
Henry Hub drops to $2.08 per MMBtu
This report week, the Henry Hub spot price fell 36 cents from $2.44 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) last Wednesday to $2.08/MMBtu this Wednesday, the agency said.
Moreover, the price of the March 2023 NYMEX contract decreased 29.7 cents, from $2.471/MMBtu last Wednesday to $2.174/MMBtu this Wednesday.
The price of the 12-month strip averaging March 2023 through February 2024 futures contracts declined 22.5 cents to $3.003/MMBtu, the EIA said.
European and Asian prices dip
The agency said that international natural gas futures prices decreased this report week to their lowest levels since the third quarter of 2021.
Bloomberg Finance reported that weekly average front-month futures prices for LNG cargoes in East Asia decreased $2.57 to a weekly average of $15.34/MMBtu.
Natural gas futures for delivery at the Dutch TTF decreased $1.04 to a weekly average of $15.64/MMBtu.
In the same week last year (week ending February 23, 2022), the prices in East Asia and at TTF were $25.81/MMBtu and $26.36/MMBtu, respectively, the agency said.