Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass Liquefaction facility in Louisiana continued to ramp up Sept. 8, while Sempra Energy's nearby Cameron LNG remained offline almost two weeks after Hurricane Laura hit the US Gulf Coast, S&P Global Platts Analytics data showed.
The developments came as participants in the key Asian import markets maintained a bullish view of supply and demand fundamentals. While the Platts JKM for October was assessed lower at $4.613/MMBtu on Sept. 8, it has been on an upward trend of late and forward prices for the winter months are pointing above $5/MMBtu.
Together, Sabine Pass and Cameron LNG have the capacity to produce over 40 million mt/year of LNG from eight liquefaction trains. They are two of the biggest such facilities in the US.
With physical damage appearing not to be substantial at either terminal, the biggest difference in the challenges they have faced getting back up and running after the hurricane made landfall Aug. 27 has involved power. Cameron LNG in Hackberry, south of Lake Charles, relies on power purchased from utility Entergy, and widespread outages in the area have continued. Sabine Pass produces its power on-site and has held the potential to be back up and running more quickly.
"Almost every facility in the region is still without power and/or water, and the lack of power will be the biggest hurdle in getting facilities rehabilitated," according to a Sept. 8 shipping notice to customers that use the channel that serves Cameron LNG. "Most of them cannot even finish their damage assessments and surveys without having power."
Tankers bound for Sabine Pass use a different channel.
Sempra has acknowledged that the storm's impact on the surrounding community and the local resources Cameron LNG depends on has been significant. The operator said in a statement Sept. 4 it was working with Entergy and Lake Charles Pilots on restoration timelines and was helping the community as it begins "the long path to recovery."
It did not provide an estimate for how long Cameron LNG would be offline. A spokeswoman declined to provide an update Sept. 8.
Gas deliveries to Sabine Pass totaled almost 1.5 Bcf/d Sept. 8, up from 475 MMcf/d the previous day, Platts Analytics data showed. Cheniere officials could not immediately confirm whether LNG production had resumed. Flows to Cameron LNG remained at zero.
Off the Louisiana-Texas coast Sept. 8, one unladen tanker, LNG Juno, was anchored in the Gulf of Mexico. Slightly further out, two other tankers, Oak Spirit and Bonito LNG, were positioned, according to Platts trade flow software cFlow.
