Half of Cheniere’s US LNG exports heading for Europe

Cheniere could see half of its US LNG supply reaching Europe in the future, but buyers might re-export some of the cargoes to other markets.

Speaking at the EAGC conference in Geneva, Cheniere Marketing President Jean Abiteboul said prices will determine the final destination of the cargoes, as uncertainties over LNG demand in China and India remain, Platts reports.

Abiteboul said that, due to the fact that there were no destination clauses in Cheniere’s contracts, buyers could reload cargoes in Europe and ship them to Asia or even South America.

He noted that Europe currently has enough spare capacity to receive new LNG supply as its regasification facilities were running at around 30 percent.

Cheniere, that is currently building two LNG export projects in the United States, the Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi liquefaction projects, will supply 30 percent of the Spanish gas market under long-term contracts.

The company will also be covering 5 percent of the total European gas market with 16 million tons a year of LNG, from its total 31.5 million tons of initial LNG production capacity, booked on long-term deals.

LNG World News Staff; Image: Cheniere