Fallout from the novel coronavirus crisis combined with above average winter temperatures will cut US natural gas exports by more than half in July before increasing in each of the subsequent months in 2020, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report on Tuesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd June, 2020) Fallout from the novel coronavirus crisis combined with above average winter temperatures will cut US natural gas exports by more than half in July before increasing in each of the subsequent months in 2020, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report on Tuesday.
"In January 2020, 74 LNG [liquefied natural gas] export cargoes were loaded in the United States, and LNG exports totaled 8.1 Bcf/d [billion cubic feet per day] - both record highs. LNG exports were only slightly lower from February through April, but they started to decline in May," the report said. "EIA forecasts that gross US LNG exports will fall to a low of 3.2 Bcf/d in July 2020 before increasing in each of the remaining months of the year."
Dry natural gas supplied from LNG export facilities primarily located on the Gulf of Mexico to be liquefied for export has plunged from 9.8 Bcf/d in late March 2020 to less than 4.0 Bcf/d in June, the report said.
Declining US LNG exports also reflect a plunge in prices in both Asia and Europe to historical lows in recent months, the release added.
The report cited trade press accounts indicating that more than more than and more than 100 tanker shipments of US LNG exports were canceled for June, July and August, compared with 74 cargoes that were exported in January 2020 - before the novel coronavirus outbreak morphed into a global pandemic.
In 2019, on an annual basis, the United States became the world's third-largest LNG exporter, and only Qatar and Australia exported more LNG. As a result, US exporters emerged as major competitor to Russia, a leading supplier of natural gas for Europe.
