October 17, 2023 [LNG Prime]- The Netherlands was the top destination for US liquefied natural gas supplies for the fourth month in a row in August, according to the Department of Energy’s newest LNG monthly report.
The report shows that US terminals shipped 57.4 Bcf of LNG to the Netherlands in August, 34.9 Bcf to South Korea, 34.3 Bcf to France, 24.2 Bcf to Japan, and 21.5 Bcf to Italy.
These five countries took 48.9 percent of total US LNG exports in August.
US terminals shipped 53.3 Bcf of LNG to the Netherlands in July, 40.2 Bcf to Japan, 39 Bcf to China, 34.1 Bcf to Spain, and 20.6 Bcf to France.
In June and May, US terminals shipped 45.9 Bcf of LNG and 64.5 Bcf of LNG to the Netherlands, respectively, while the UK was the top destination for US LNG supplies for six months in a row prior to that.
The Netherlands has expanded its capacity with the launching of Gasunie’s Eemshaven FSRU-based LNG terminal that mostly receives cargoes from the US.
The country’s first FSRU-based terminal adds to the Gate LNG import facility in Rotterdam, also operated by Gasunie and Vopak and currently being expanded with the fourth tank and additional regas capacity.
These two terminals deliver regasified LNG to the Dutch grid for customers in the Netherlands as well as to customers in Germany, Czech Republic, and other European countries.
US LNG exports rise 17.7 percent
The US exported in total 353 Bcf of LNG in August, up by 17.7 percent compared to the same month last year and a rise of 1.1 percent from the prior month, the DOE report shows.
US terminals shipped 114 LNG cargoes in August, compared to 99 cargoes in August 2022 and 116 cargoes in July this year, according to the report.
Cheniere’s Sabine Pass plant sent 35 cargoes and its Corpus Christi terminal shipped 18 cargoes, while Sempra’s Cameron LNG plant sent 27 shipments during August.
In addition, Freeport LNG sent 25 cargoes, Cove Point LNG sent 7 cargoes, and Elba Island LNG dispatched 2 shipments.
5155 cargoes and new importer of US LNG supplies
According to DOE’s report, the weighted average price by export terminal reached 6.21/MMBtu in August and 9.33/MMBtu in the September 2022 – August 2023 period.
Moreover, the report said that in the period from February 2016 through August 2023, the US exported 5155 cargoes or 16,402.9 Bcf to 45 countries.
This means that US LNG supplies reached a new country in August.
The data shows that El Salvador is the newest importer of LNG supplies, but the country received a partial cargo from the US.
LNG giant Shell delivered the small shipment (805 Mcf of natural gas) from the Elba Island LNG terminal in Georgia onboard the 174,000-cbm Pan Asia.
Prior to that, the vessel unloaded most of this shipment (1,960,090 Mcf) in Chile, the data said.
Pan Asia’s AIS data provided by VesselsValue shows that the LNG carrier unloaded the cargo in mid-August at Chile’s Quintero LNG terminal.
The vessel then stopped by Peru’s LNG terminal and after that it visited in the beginning of Sepember the 137,000-cbm BW Tatiana FSRU in El Salvador’s Acajutla, where it serves the Energia del Pacífico (EDP) LNG-to-power project.
South Korea and Japan
The DOE data shows that South Korea remains the top destination for US LNG with 546 cargoes, followed by Japan with 419 cargoes, the UK with 395 cargoes, France with 393 cargoes, and Spain with 394 cargoes.
Spain received one cargo more than France but less volumes.
Besides these five countries, the Netherlands, China, India, Turkey, and Brazil are in the top ten as well.
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