Less than half of US cargoes went to Europe
Netherlands receives 10 cargoes on month
Storage levels suppress demand in Europe
The Netherlands was the top destination for US LNG delivered in August, even as fewer than half of US shipments went to Europe for a third consecutive month, an S&P Global Commodity Insights analysis showed Sept. 4.
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Stronger demand in the Asia-Pacific region combined with healthy natural gas storage inventories and weakening demand in Europe contributed to the trade flow dynamics during the month, with an open arbitrage window pushing US volumes toward Asia.
The Netherlands received 10 US LNG cargoes in August, followed by South Korea, with nine; and China, India and Japan, each with seven, Commodity Insights data showed.
In August, Europe, including Turkey, received 43 US LNG cargoes, or less than 40% of the cargoes delivered during the month. The shipments represented an increase from the 35 US cargoes delivered to Europe in July, which accounted for less than a third of the monthly US cargoes delivered.
Even though Europe’s robust storage inventories have suppressed demand in the region, concerns about potential supply interruptions and the risk of a cold winter have contributed to price volatility in the market.
EU member states are required to fill their storage sites to 90% capacity by Nov. 1, but had already hit that storage threshold as of Aug. 19, according to Aggregated Gas Storage Inventory data.
The Netherlands, like France, offers optionality to shippers in Europe who can send regasified LNG to storage, use it internally or move it to a higher hub market.
In Asia, overall LNG imports saw a slight decrease in August as lower-than-expected consumption weighed on regional demand.
Four US LNG cargoes shipped to Asia in August transited through the Panama Canal, up from three in July. Two of those cargoes were sourced from Freeport LNG, one from Cameron, and another from Sabine Pass.
Only one of the August cargoes, onboard the Maran Gas Ulysses, has reached its destination. The cargo completed its transit through the canal on Aug. 12, arriving at the Tongyeong LNG regasification terminal in South Korea on Sept. 4, according to data from S&P Global Commodities at Sea.
A second cargo, onboard the Ignacy Lukasiewicz, transited the canal on Aug. 19 on its way to the Naoetsu LNG terminal in Japan. It was expected to arrive on Sept. 16.
The Prism Agility transited the canal on Aug. 22 en route to the Boryeong LNG receiving terminal in South Korea, with an estimated arrival date of Sept. 19.
The most recent US LNG cargo to transit the canal did so on the Minerva Chios on Aug. 26, heading to an undetermined destination in Asia.
Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed the October JKM benchmark price for LNG cargoes delivered to Northeast Asia at $13.16/MMBtu Sept. 4, down more than 3% on the day.
In Europe, the Platts DES Northwest Europe Marker for September was assessed at $11.396/MMBtu Sept. 4, down 40.7 cents on the day.
Across the Atlantic, Platts assessed the Gulf Coast Marker for US FOB cargoes loading 30-60 days forward at $10.55/MMBtu Sept. 4, down 40 cents from Sept. 3.
Source link : https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/market-insights/latest-news/lng/090424-netherlands-was-top-destination-for-us-lng-in-august-as-european-demand-weaken
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Publish date : 2024-09-04 07:00:00
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