US LNG exports flat week on week
The US federal government reported May 13 that 21 LNG tankers had left port in the week to May 12, virtually flat on the 22 in the week before. Total natural gas production inched higher.
The Energy Information Administration reported that of the 21 tankers, seven left the Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana; four each left the Corpus Christi and Freeport facilities; three left from Cameron; two from Cove Point and one from Elba Island off the coast of Georgia.
Those 21 vessels left with a combined 74bn ft3 of LNG. There were 22 vessels filled with LNG that left US ports during the previous period ending May 5.
In a recent monthly report, EIA said the lack of new export capacity means there will be no change in US LNG exports next year, forecasting an average of 9.2bn ft3/d both this year and next.
Total US natural gas production is expected to average 91.1bn ft3/d this year, a 0.3% decline from last year, but increase to 93.1bn ft3/d in 2021. The decline for this year is largely a result of the impact that cold February weather had on production centres in Texas. The expected increase in production next year is a reflection of higher commodity prices relative to 2020.
For the period ending May 12, the EIA, using data from IHS Markit, reported natural gas production averaged 91.8bn ft3/d, a 3.6% increase from the same period last year and a 0.2% increase from last week.