May 14, 2020 – Seatrade Maritime News
US LNG export boom comes under pressure
By Barry Parker
In recent years, the US has joined the league of major LNG exporters, however, since March this year a boom in export cargoes has started to come off and could decline further in coming months…
Read the full article here: https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/tankers/us-lng-export-boom-comes-under-pressure
…In March 2020, things started to change. Amidst the gyrations in energy prices, and the COVID-19 pandemic, the LNG sector like other parts of the energy mix, is in the midst of unprecedented changes. A new report by Sheetal Nasta, an expert on gas markets at analysts RBN Energy, delves into the finer points of how cargoes are priced. She explains that, to date, US gas exports have not been severely impacted, but might soon be, noting that Sempra and Cheniere Energy have cancelled liftings or modified schedules.
RBN notes that: “Total LNG cargoes lifted from US ports have come off from the record 74 in January 2020, but the slowdown has been relatively modest, considering the upside-down economics — offtakers lifted 65 cargoes in February, 69 in March and 59 in April, with the bulk of those heading to Europe. We know the declines are set to escalate in the next couple months — cancellations are mounting, and the cargo count is bound to drop further.”
