Fog continued to limit activity at US LNG export facilities in Texas and Louisiana Jan. 22.
The weather conditions were expected to persist for a short period, according to notices to shippers.
Feedgas deliveries to US LNG export facilities have been robust in recent months amid a huge rally in the S&P Global Platts JKM spot price, from an all-time low of $1.825/MMBtu April 28, 2020 to an all-time high of $32.50/MMBtu Jan. 13.
JKM spot prices have declined considerably since the prompt delivery period recently rolled to March, indicating that the winter supply crunch has begun to taper. Spot LNG prices still remain heavily backwardated to the derivatives, suggesting late-winter storage restocking is still twice as expensive as last winter and could diminish buying activity over the coming months.
JKM for March was assessed at $8.875/MMBtu Jan. 22.
In Texas, the channel serving Cheniere Energy's Corpus Christi Liquefaction terminal closed late Jan. 21 due to fog, according to a notice to shippers.
Along the channel serving Cheniere's Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana, pilot service was suspended late Jan. 21, according to a separate shipper notice. The Sabine notice advised that there was a high probability of fog through Jan. 23 and a moderate chance of fog through Jan. 27.
While gas deliveries to Corpus Christi Liquefaction were stable Jan. 22 compared with a week earlier, they were down more than 800 MMcf/d at Sabine Pass compared with a week earlier, Platts Analytics data show. A Cheniere spokesman cited the fog.
Flows to Freeport LNG, south of Houston, totaled about 818 MMcf/d Jan. 12, less than half of what deliveries were a week earlier. A spokeswoman for Freeport LNG said the flow variability at the terminal reflects its scheduled lifting program and not any other factor.
One tanker was moored at Sabine Pass Jan. 22, while three unladen tankers were positioned in the Gulf of Mexico not far from the US coast, cFlow, Platts trade flow software, showed .
No tankers were at the Corpus Christi terminal Jan. 22. One has recently departed, and another was positioned in the Gulf of Mexico not far from the channel that serves the terminal. One tanker was moored at Freeport LNG Jan. 22, while another was positioned outside the channel that serves the terminal, cFlow showed.
