US LNG exports rise in July as maintenance works completed
HOUSTON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from the United States rebounded in July with a 9% jump from the previous month, as plants resumed operations after planned maintenance, preliminary data from Refinitiv Eikon showed on Tuesday.
At the end of June, Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass facility in Louisiana returned to full production after undergoing maintenance for several weeks.
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In July, U.S. producers exported a total of 7.44 million tonnes (MT) of LNG, of which 43% went to Europe, 36% to Asia, 10% to Latin America and 2% to the Middle East, the Refinitiv data showed.
The United States is the world's second largest exporter of LNG, supplying the super-chilled product to global markets.
While Europe remained the main destination for U.S. exports, shipments to the continent declined to 43% of total in July from 52% in June, while Asia received 36% last month, up from 20% the previous month, the data showed.
Asia's imports from the United States hit an 18-month high in July, with commodity analysis firm Kpler recording arrivals of 2.34 MT that month, up from 1.43 MT in June and 1.91 MT in July last year.
However, high LNG storage levels have so far been sufficient for strengthened demand, leading to some Asian importers taking a wait-and-see approach for additional spot LNG purchases, consultancy Rystad Energy said in a report last week.
U.S. LNG exports to Latin America and the Middle East fell to 10% and 2% of total in July, respectively, compared with 23% and 3% the previous month, according to the data.
U.S. liquefaction facilities are expected to run near full utilization for the rest of the summer as the scheduled maintenance season is ending, unless unexpected issues occur, according to Rystad.
The high inventories, muted demand and weak economic growth are expected to limit LNG price recovery globally, Rystad's Senior Analyst Masanori Odaka said in the report.
"Europe is continuing to inject gas into storage, with storage levels for this time of the year well above 2021 and 2022", Odaka said.
(Reporting by Curtis Williams in Houston; Editing by Alexander Smith)