By Curtis Williams
HOUSTON (Reuters) -U.S. liquefied natural gas output fell in May due to plant outages and maintenance at the country’s largest export facility, preliminary LSEG ship tracking data show.
The U.S. is the world’s largest LNG exporter and monthly changes in production can impact global LNG prices.
In May the U.S. exported 8.9 million metric tons of LNG, down from a record 9.3 MT in April, according to LSEG data.
During May all U.S. plants experienced short periods of lower output when compared to April, the LSEG data showed, and Cheniere Energy confirmed that its 30 MT per annum (mtpa) Sabine Pass facility in Texas, the biggest in the nation, was undergoing maintenance work.
Gas flows to Sabine have held at a 23-month low of around 3.1 bcfd since May 31. That compares with an average of 4.3 bcfd over the prior seven days.
Freeport LNG, the U.S.’ third largest LNG producer, also reported several outages.
Europe remained the favored market for U.S. LNG exports as traders tried to take advantage of higher prices in Europe for the superchilled gas when compared to Asia.
Gas prices at the European benchmark Title Transfer Facility (TTF) in the Netherlands rose to $11.68 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) in May, up from $11.48 in April and an average of $10.12 in May 2024.
Of the 8.9 MT of LNG exported from the U.S., 6.05 MT or 68% went to Europe, the same percentage as in April, LSEG data showed.
Exports to Asia remained relatively low with 1.88 MT or 21% of total exports, compared to 2.05 MT or 22% of total exports in April, LSEG data showed.
Stronger domestic production, pipeline imports, renewable generation and weak industrial demand have kept Chinese demand muted and China, the world’s largest LNG user, continues to resell U.S. LNG to avoid paying retaliatory tariffs as the trade dispute continues between the world’s two largest economies.
Prices at the Asian benchmark Japan Korea Marker (JKM) slid to $11.83 per mmBtu in May, down from $12.23 in April but up from an average of $11.10 in May 2024.
Exports to Latin America also fell with .66 MT sold in May compared to .68 MT in April.
Egypt bought 3 cargoes for a total of .22 MT, while Bahrain bought one cargo for .07 MT. One cargo also left Cheniere’s Sabine Pass plant on May 23, but as of Monday was in the Caribbean Sea with no clear destination, LSEG ship tracking data showed.
The United States is poised to remain the world’s largest LNG exporter with an expected 6 projects getting the financial go ahead in 2025, adding another 90 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) of LNG to the U.S. output by 2030.
(Reporting by Curtis Williams in HoustonEditing by Nick Zieminski)
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