Articles tagged lng demand

A possible fourth train for Freeport LNG is expected to remain in the development phase for now, but the facility could export an additional 1.5 million metric tons/year (mmty) to the spot market by this summer, CEO Michael Smith said Wednesday.

Two of Freeport LNG’s trains at its Texas export facility could be offline intermittently through at least May, the company confirmed Wednesday, after the end of months-long maintenance on Train 3 last week.

If the future price of natural gas remains higher than the spot price, would producers be incentivized to tighten production? Market participants discussed the possibility that the contango in natural gas would keep some producers from reining in supply.

Natural gas in U.S. storage remains swollen, reflecting an exceptionally mild winter and record levels of production. The one-two punch weighed on prices through most of the heating season and raised concerns about an enduring bear market.

Shell plc has tempered its expectations for peak LNG demand over the next two decades, but the top natural gas trader still expects the current buildout of export capacity led by the United States to fall short of rising global consumption driven by Asia.

The whopping 326 Bcf of natural gas that utilities pulled from storage in the third week of January amplified concerns that capacity may prove inadequate in coming years as U.S. production further escalates to meet global LNG demand.

Natural gas futures tanked at midmorning Wednesday after news of the delayed completion of a major LNG export facility accelerated earlier losses driven by healthy production and lackluster weather-related demand.

As the Northern Hemisphere nears what could be a milder winter compared to last year, Energy Information Administration (EIA) researchers expect U.S. LNG exporters to further expand their role as a balancing force in the global spot market.

LNG export demand is the primary variable to watch in the U.S. natural gas market heading into winter, according to Marex North America LLC’s Steve Blair, senior account executive.

Trading action along the Nymex natural gas futures curve was like watching paint dry on Monday, with the prompt month swinging in a tight range given no major changes to fundamentals. The September Nymex gas futures contract settled at $2.795/MMBtu, up 2.5 cents from Friday’s close. October futures tacked on 1.6 cents to $2.898.