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The war in Ukraine, which has reshuffled all the cards in the energy market in Europe, continues to push exports of liquefied natural gas from the United States. In December, exports reached record levels, both monthly and annual: in 2023 as a whole, US exports increased by 14.7%, to 88.9 million tons (they were 77.5 million tons in 2022), as tanker monitoring data reported by the London Stock Exchange Group shows.
«The record production of the United States – explained Alex Munton, analyst at Rapidan Energy – was driven by two factors: the return to full service of the Freeport terminal, which added 6 tons, and the entire year’s production of the plant Venture Global LNG’s Calcasieu Pass, which added 3 tons more than in 2022». As you may recall in the Freeport terminal, on Quintana Island, Texas, in June 2022, an explosion followed by a serious fire knocked out for implants for several weeks. Accident that reduced American supplies by a fifth.
The record for the entire year of liquefied gas exports by the United States confirms a trend already highlighted in the first six months by the International Energy Agency which in its findings already reported the primacy of the USA, ahead of Qatar and Australia. Record confirmed therefore for the United States which in 2023 became the world‘s leading exporter, knocking Qatar off the top step of the podium. According to many analysts, the US lead is destined to consolidate in 2024 thanks to the entry into production of new liquefaction terminals. Europe remains the top destination for American LNG exports in December, with 5.43 tonnes, or just over 61% of the total (down from 68% in November). The month-on-month decline reflects warmer-than-normal temperatures in Europe and high storage levels, analysts at consultancy Rystad Energy said. European gas storage was at 97% at the beginning of December. Yesterday the session closed with a sharp decline in natural gas futures for February at the Amsterdam TTF: -6.414% at 30.27 euros per megawatt hour. This is the lowest it has been in more than two years.