US LNG exports decline on week to 5 cargoes

Cheniere’s Sabine Pass liquefaction terminal in Louisiana, currently the only such a facility to export US shale gas overseas, has sent out less cargoes in the week ending February 14 as compared to the previous week.

Five LNG vessels with a combined capacity of 17.2 billion cubic feet (Bcf) have departed the plant since Wednesday last week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its weekly natural gas report.

This compares to six LNG vessels with a combined capacity of 22.6 Bcf in the week before.

One tanker with a capacity of 3.8 Bcf was loading at the terminal on Wednesday.

The natural gas feedstock to the Sabine Pass terminal averaged 3.2 Bcf/d during the report week as compared to 3.3 Bcf/d in the prior week.

To remind, federal safety regulators have on February 8 instructed Cheniere to remove from service two of five LNG storage tanks at its Sabine Pass terminal following a gas leak last month.

Cheniere’s Sabine Pass facility is the first liquefaction and export facility and currently the only such facility to ship U.S. shale gas overseas. The plant will be soon joined by Dominion’s Cove Point facility that is expected to ship its first cargo in March.

There are four 0.6-Bcfd liquefaction trains operating at Sabine Pass, and a fifth is under construction and expected to enter service in mid-2019. Cheniere also plans to start its Corpus Christi plant next year.

LNG World News Staff