DOE: U.S. LNG exports hit 235 Bcf in Feb-Jan

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from Cheniere’s Sabine Pass liquefaction facility in Louisiana reached 235 billion cubic feet (Bcf) during the February-January period, the latest data from the U.S. Department of Energy shows.

Cheniere’s Sabine Pass liquefaction facility in Louisiana, currently the only such facility to ship U.S. shale gas overseas, exported in total 68 LNG cargoes in the period under review.

Latin America remained as the top destination for U.S. LNG. Mexico took 14 LNG cargoes during the period while 10 landed in Chile and 6 in Argentina, DOE said.

Other notable importers of U.S. LNG were China, Japan and India. China imported 7 LNG cargoes, while Japan and India took 6 shipments each.

Europe, that was seen as the preferred destination for American LNG, imported in total 11 cargoes during the period including three that landed in Turkey.

Spain received four U.S. LNG cargoes, Portugal 2, while Italy and Malta imported one, each. The cargo delivered to Malta, the newcomer to the LNG importing nations club, was split between the tiny island country and Jordan, the DOE data shows.

According to the data, Sabine Pass export point prices were ranging from the smallest price of $3.12 per MMBtu recorded in May for a commissioning cargo to the highest price of $7.52 per MMBtu in January – this price included liquefaction fees.

DOE’s report also shows that American LNG Marketing exported 121,124 million cubic feet (Mcf) of domestically produced LNG in ISO containers in the February-January period.

LNG was shipped from Miami, Fla. to Barbados with the export point price for almost all of the shipments at $10.00 per mmBtu.

To remind, U.S. LNG exports reached record volumes in the previous two months, with fifteen LNG cargoes shipped in January and February, each, according to the U.S. EIA.

Cheniere is developing up to six trains at the Sabine Pass terminal with each train expected to have a nominal production capacity of approximately 4.5 million tons per annum.

The Houston-based company currently ships the fuel produced at three liquefaction trains. The third train is expected to enter soon into commercial operations following an approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Cheniere also recently requested permission to introduce fuel gas to Train 4 to begin the commissioning process.

By 2021, four additional LNG export facilities currently under construction along the U.S. Gulf Coast are expected to be completed. These five plants would have an operational export capacity of 9.2 Bcf per day in total, according to EIA.

LNG World News Staff