U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities brought in a record amount of natural gas in the first six months of this year after the Freeport LNG terminal returned to service, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Monday.
Natural gas delivered by pipeline to LNG export facilities, called LNG feed gas, averaged 12.8 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in the first half of 2023, 4% more than the same six-month period in 2022 and 8% higher than the full 2022 average.
Freeport LNG’s export plant in Texas was back at full power in late-March, ramping up feed gas intake after an eight-month outage, the result of a fire in June 2022, ended in February.
LNG feed gas also set a monthly record in April 2023 at 14.0 bcfd, supported by high international demand for U.S. LNG exports, particularly in Europe, the EIA said, citing data by S&P Global Commodity Insights.
“Limited growth in global LNG export capacity in the next two years may increase the need for destination-flexible LNG supplies, mainly from the United States,” the EIA said.
It forecasts U.S. LNG exports to average 12 bcfd this year and 13.3 bcfd in 2024, with two new LNG liquefaction projects, Golden Pass and Plaquemines, expected to come online.
