US shipments of liquefied natural gas to overseas customers plunged more than 60 percent in the first six months of 2020 due to the novel coronavirus pandemic with liquefaction plants operating at one-third capacity, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report on Tuesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th August, 2020) US shipments of liquefied natural gas to overseas customers plunged more than 60 percent in the first six months of 2020 due to the novel coronavirus pandemic with liquefaction plants operating at one-third capacity, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report on Tuesday.
"After establishing a record high of 8.0 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in January 2020, US exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) fell to an average of 3.1 Bcf/d in July 2020," the report said. "This summer, EIA forecasts that utilization at US LNG liquefaction facilities will average 35 percent, or similar to utilization in off-peak months (April, May, September and October) when seasonal demand tends to be at its lowest level."
The EIA said that it estimates about 46 US shipments were canceled in June and about 50 were canceled in July 2020. Other big LNG suppliers including Qatar, Australia and Russia suffered similar declines.
In June and July, Australia and the United States - the world's second- and third-largest LNG exporting countries - reduced LNG exports by an average 1.2 Bcf/d and 1.5 Bcf/d, respectively, compared with the same period last year, the report said.
Russia, the world's fourth-largest LNG exporter, cut its exports by an average 0.9 Bcf/d in June and July, and Qatar, the world's largest LNG exporter, reduced its shipments by 0.5 Bcf/d, the report added.
The novel coronavirus mitigation efforts were largely responsible for the decline, producing high natural gas storage inventories in Europe and Asia and pushing international natural gas and LNG prices to historical lows, according to the report.
