The DOE report shows that US terminals shipped 71.3 Bcf to Turkiye (17.2 percent), 62.5 Bcf to the UK (15.1 percent), 49.6 Bcf to France (12 percent), 35.4 Bcf to the Netherlands (8.5 percent), and 30.3 Bcf to Spain (7.3 percent) in January.
These five countries took 60 percent of total US LNG exports in January.
LNG import terminals in Turkiye and the UK were the top destinations for US LNG cargoes in December and November 2024, France was the top destination for US LNG supplies in October, while the Netherlands was the top destination for US LNG cargoes in September.
DOE’s data previously showed that the Netherlands was the top destination for US LNG supplies in 2024 with 463.8 Bcf or 139 cargoes, down by 21 percent year-on-year, while France took 354.8 Bcf or 108 cargoes, down by 28 percent year-on-year.
In 2023, the Netherlands was also the prime destination for US LNG cargoes with 588.6 Bcf, followed by France with 493.2 Bcf.
January LNG exports rise
The DOE report shows that the US exported 414.9 Bcf of LNG to 27 countries in January, up 4.3 percent from the same month in 2024 and a rise of 1 percent compared to the prior month.
In September 2024, Europe again became the preferred destination for US LNG cargoes, and this remained the case in the following months.
Europe received 354.6 Bcf (85.5 percent), Asia 34.7 Bcf (8.4 percent), Africa 14.4 Bcf (3.5 percent), and Latin America/Caribbean 11.2 Bcf (2.7 percent) in January.
DOE said that 94.2 percent of total LNG exports went to non-free trade agreement countries, while the remaining 5.8 percent went to free trade agreement countries.
Moreover, US terminals shipped 131 LNG cargoes in January, down from 134 cargoes in December.
Cheniere’s Sabine Pass plant sent 40 cargoes, and its Corpus Christi terminal shipped 18 cargoes, while Sempra’s Cameron LNG plant shipped 24 cargoes.
The Freeport LNG terminal sent 18 cargoes, Venture Global’s Calcasieu plant sent 13 cargoes, the Cove Point LNG terminal dispatched nine shipments, Venture Global’s Plaquemines LNG plant sent six cargoes, and the Elba Island plant shipped two cargoes during the month under review.
The DOE also noted that NFE’s Altamira LNG terminal in Mexico shipped one cargo in January. This project receives feed gas from the US and Mexico.
Average price at 8.19/MMBtu
According to DOE’s report, the average price by export terminal reached 8.19/MMBtu in January.
This compares to 6.63/MMBtu in January 2023, while the average price was 7.38/MMBtu in December 2024.
The most expensive average price in January came from Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass terminal, and it reached $12.94/MMBtu, followed by Plaquemines LNG with $11.34/MMBtu.
Prices at other facilities ranged between $5.76/MMBtu (Altamira) to $8.51/MMBtu (Freeport LNG), the data shows.
7196 cargoes
The report said that from February 2016 through January 2025, the US exported 7196 cargoes or 22,716.9 Bcf to 43 countries.
The DOE data shows that South Korea remains the top destination for US LNG, with 669 cargoes, followed by Japan with 559 cargoes, France with 580 cargoes, the Netherlands with 538 cargoes, and the UK with 530 cargoes.
France took more cargoes than Japan but fewer volumes.
In addition to these five countries, Spain, China, India, Turkiye, and Brazil are in the top ten.