Cargoes

Domestic liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports have remained steady and are on track to finish the month well above year-ago levels as the market continues to be tested by word of new cargo cancellations and warning signs for what lies ahead.

Despite prices that have cratered since last year and a steep cut in demand caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, global liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies remain resilient and cargoes are still being delivered.

Inclement weather along parts of the Gulf Coast has so far done more in recent weeks than the coronavirus to impact operations at U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals, but operators are keeping a close eye on developments at home and abroad as the disease spreads.

A roundup of news and commentary from NGI’s LNG Insight

The global natural gas market is grappling with demand loss in China that’s resulted from the coronavirus outbreak, as spot prices in Northeast Asia have continued to tumble, more ships are idling, and buyers and sellers are trying to find a place for deferred cargoes.

A unit of Cheniere Energy Inc. has struck what is thought to be the first U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply deal linked to European spot prices, implying confidence in the staying power of low U.S. gas prices, analysts said.

If/when the United States begins exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG), it could take decades for the number of outbound cargoes to equal the number of press releases, studies and policy briefs generated by either side of the export debate. Besides powering a manufacturing/petrochemical renaissance, North American shale gas is fueling a bonfire of inanities, at least some would say.

Back in 2007 the United States was in store to get about 130 metric tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports. However, North American shale gas plays have changed all that. But if hydraulic fracturing (fracking) well stimulation is outlawed or severely curtailed, it could be back to the future where LNG imports are concerned.

With a record amount of natural gas in storage and “resilient” domestic gas production, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects spot prices to hover in the $5/Mcf range during the winter season, “even as space-heating demand increases and economic conditions improve.” The agency also anticipates that gas consumption by power generators will drop next year due to potentially higher gas prices and the addition of new coal-fired generation capacity.