US liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports rose in the week ending December 7 while the Henry Hub spot price dropped when compared to the last week, according to the Energy Information Administration.
EIA said in its weekly natural gas report that 23 LNG carriers departed the US plants between December 1 and December 7, seven more compared to the week before.
According to the agency, the total capacity of LNG vessels carrying these cargoes is 85 Bcf.
Overall natural gas deliveries to US LNG export terminals increased by 0.2 Bcf/d week over week to average 11.8 Bcf/d this report week, according to data from PointLogic.
Cheniere’s Sabine Pass plant shipped nine cargoes and its Corpus Christi facility sent four shipments.
Sempra’s Cameron LNG also sent four shipments while Venture Global LNG’s Calcasieu Pass terminal dispatched three cargoes and Cove Point LNG two cargoes.
Elba Island LNG also dispatched one cargo during the week under review, EIA said, citing shipping data by Bloomberg Finance.
Freeport LNG did not ship any cargoes as it remains shut following an incident at the facility that took place on June 8.
The operator of the LNG terminal is still working to restart operations at its 15 mtpa LNG export plant in Texas and expects to bring back online the facility by the end of this month.
Henry Hub down
This report week, the Henry Hub spot price fell $2.27 from $6.80 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) last Wednesday to $4.53/MMBtu this Wednesday, the agency said.
Moreover, the price of the January 2023 NYMEX contract decreased $1.207, from $6.930/MMBtu last Wednesday to $5.723/MMBtu this Wednesday.
The price of the 12-month strip averaging January 2023 through December 2023 futures contracts declined 67.7 cents to $5.032/MMBtu, the agency said.
EIA recently said it expects natural gas prices to increase from November levels as a result of both higher winter natural gas demand and rising LNG exports.
TTF climbs
The agency said that international natural gas futures prices rose this report week.
Bloomberg Finance reported that weekly average futures prices for LNG cargoes in East Asia increased $1.97 to a weekly average of $32.98/MMBtu.
Natural gas futures for delivery at the Dutch TTF increased $2.94 to a weekly average of $42.95/MMBtu, the agency said.