US LNG exports rose in the week ending January 26, while the Henry Hub spot price logged a drop 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 25 LNG shipments between January 20 and January 26, up by five cargoes when compared to the week before.
Natural gas deliveries to LNG export facilities averaged 12.7 Bcf/d, or 0.1 Bcf/d lower than last week.
Six US terminals exported the 25 cargoes during the week under review. The total capacity of LNG vessels carrying these cargoes is 91 Bcf.
Cheniere’s Sabine Pass plant dispatched eight cargoes, while its Corpus Christi plant sent five shipments. The Cameron and Freeport terminals each sent four shipments, and Cove Point and Elba Island dispacthed two cargoes, each.
Henry Hub spot price down
This report week, the Henry Hub spot price fell from $4.74/MMBtu last Wednesday to $4.37/MMBtu this Wednesday, but it remains approximately 65 cents above the December 2021 average, the agency said.
The Henry Hub spot price for February surged to $6.26/MMBtu on Thursday, marking a nearly $2 price increase from the day before.
The South Louisiana natural gas market tightened this report week. Notably, LNG feed gas increased by almost 4 percent over last week to 7.4 Bcf/d, according to data from IHS Markit.
This large increase set a weekly record, and LNG feed gas now accounts for more than half of total natural gas disposition in South Louisiana, exceeding the sum of total consumption and net outflows for the region, EIA said.
Receipts into South Louisiana fell 360 MMcf/d this report week, led by a decline in receipts from the Gulf of Mexico offshore production, which fell by more than 260 MMcf/d or 19 percent, it said.
LNG prices decline
According to the agency, international natural gas prices dropped this report week.
Bloomberg Finance reported that swap prices for LNG cargoes in East Asia for the balance of January fell $7.99 to a weekly average of $22.46/MMBtu.
At the Dutch TTF, the day-ahead prices rose an average $2.30 to a weekly average of $28.72/MMBtu.
In the same week last year (week ending January 27, 2021), prices in East Asia and at TTF were $8.61/MMBtu and $7.21/MMBtu, respectively, EIA said.