NO. 1: U.S. LNG exports declined in July after a 57% drop in shipments from the Freeport liquefied natural gas terminal on the upper Texas coast, according to Kpler.
Kpler data showed U.S. LNG exports fell to 6.76 million tons (Mt) last month, down from 7.06 Mt in June and 7.13 Mt in July 2023.
Freeport shut down July 7 ahead of former Hurricane Beryl’s landfall. Damage caused by the storm knocked out full production at the facility for three weeks before it returned to service July 28.
Kpler also noted that Asia has been the top destination for U.S. LNG exports since March, “due to higher prices and hotter weather.” So far this year, the United States has exported the most LNG in the world at 49.61 Mt, up from 48.48 Mt last year, according to Kpler data. That’s followed by Australia at 47.61 Mt and Qatar at 47.02 Mt.
NO. 2: As the Freeport LNG terminal was ramping up, an unplanned outage at Ichthys LNG Train 2 in Australia on July 19 has since cut output to 80% of capacity, according to Rystad Energy, helping to push LNG prices higher in Asia.
Operated by the Inpex Group, Ichthys sends most of its LNG to Japan. The Japan-Korea Marker has gained 3% since last Friday and is trading near $13/MMBtu.
Geopolitical unrest and hotter weather are also pushing global gas prices higher. Hamas said Israel killed senior leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, raising tensions in the energy-rich region.
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The prompt Title Transfer Facility contract in Europe has gained 10% since last Friday and was trading near $12. “Heatwaves in Spain, Portugal and the south of France have contributed to higher prices and led to the region importing more spot LNG to meet demand,” said Rystad analyst Masanori Odaka.
NO. 3: Oman has announced plans to develop another liquefaction train at its LNG complex in Qalhat.
The train would have the capacity to produce 3.8 Mt annually by leveraging discovered natural gas, and it would boost Oman LNG’s output to 15.2 Mt/year.
The country has been working to increase gas output, extend buyer contracts and sign new ones amid a broader push across the Middle East to expand LNG exports. Nearly 55% of global LNG export capacity in 2050 is expected to be in the Middle East and North America, according to the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, as projects are being developed aggressively in both regions.
