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☆ Freeport to restart liquefaction train at Texas LNG export plant this week
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 3 (Reuters) - Freeport LNG, the second-biggest U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter, said on Friday it plans to restart one of three liquefaction trains at its long-idled Texas export plant this week. Liquefaction trains turn natural gas into LNG for export. In a filing with Texas environmental regulators, Freeport said it "anticipates the purge and restart of Liquefaction Train 3 will begin on Feb. 3 with Trains 2 and 1 following sequentially." The Freeport plant shut after a fire in June 2022. Despite the planned Freeport restart, however, U.S. gas futures fell about 3% to a 25-month low on Friday due to forecasts for milder weather in February.

☆ What Wall Street is expecting from Shell, TotalEnergies and BP earnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

On Thursday, Europe's largest energy company Shell is due to report earnings. Britain's BP and France's TotalEnergies are also due to report the following week. It comes after Exxon , the biggest oil & gas company in North America, posted earnings and revenue that beat analyst expectations Tuesday. Here's what analysts are expecting from Shell, TotalEnergies and BP: Shell, Feb. 2 JP Morgan — Overweight, price target £29.50 ($36.29) (25% upside) Analysts led by Christyan F Malek said improved trading at Shell's integrated gas unit was a "key" data point for investors in the fourth quarter. Morningstar – price target £5.5 (13.6% upside) Analyst Allen Good said BP had weathered a big hit to earnings due to the write-off of its Russian investments in state-owned Rosfnet.

A total of 95 cargoes carrying LNG departed last month from U.S. ports mainly bound for customers in Europe, which received 68% of exports. In December, U.S. LNG exports had increased to 7.22 million tonnes as producers made an effort to supply as much as possible to Europe. Clients there took 79% of total exports that month. Delays to restart the second-largest U.S. LNG plant, Freeport LNG, after a fire have also created limitations to export the superchilled gas since mid-2022. Freeport LNG on Tuesday asked U.S. regulators for approval to supply natural gas to one of the three idled units at its Texas plant, a milestone in efforts to restore production after a seven-month outage.

☆ Japan's JERA raises FY22/23 earnings estimate on lower LNG procurement cost
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Yuka Obayashi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Higher-than-expected profit from its trading unit, JERAGM, and stronger contribution from reselling some of the super-chilled fuel by JERA, one of the world's biggest LNG buyers, when its demand was lower, also boosted its earnings, Yoshida said. The revised guideline is based on an assumption that JERA will not receive the fuel from Freeport LNG, the second-biggest U.S. LNG exporter, by the end of March, according to Yoshida. The LNG company's plant shut after a pipeline explosion on June 8, 2022 and the restart has been delayed. In November, JERA President Satoshi Onoda predicted Freeport would resume a partial operation in mid-December and its shipments to be fully back by March. Despite the delay of Freeport's restart, JERA stuck to its 110 billion loss estimate from the fire, saying lower spot LNG prices are helping to offset an impact from the delay, Yoshida said.

☆ Gas flows to Freeport LNG export plant resume, Refinitiv data shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 26 (Reuters) - Freeport LNG's long-shut liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant in Texas started receiving small amounts of pipeline natural gas on Thursday, Refinitiv data shows. The flows were on track to reach only 22 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) on Thursday, according to the data. The last time small amounts of gas started flowing to the plant from Jan. 14-19 - the company used it to maintain a flare system, according to sources familiar with the plant. With many analysts expecting the Freeport plant to remain shut until spring when demand for gas for heating will decline, U.S. gas futures fell to a 19-month low. Freeport, the second-biggest U.S. LNG exporter, is important to the gas market because prices and demand will likely rise once the plant restarts.

☆ Gas starts to flow to Freeport LNG export plant in Texas - data shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 17 (Reuters) - Freeport LNG's long-shut liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant in Texas started receiving pipeline natural gas over the long U.S. Martin Luther King Jr holiday weekend, according to Refinitiv data. Gas started flowing to Freeport on Jan. 14 and was on track to reach 69 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) on Tuesday, according to data from Refinitiv. Freeport has not yet filed a request with federal regulators to restart the plant, according to a source familiar with the company's filings. Whenever Freeport returns, U.S. gas demand will jump. The plant can turn about 2.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of gas into LNG, which is about 2% of U.S. daily production.

Working gas stocks in underground storage were 293 billion cubic feet (-9%) below the pre-pandemic five-year seasonal average on Dec. 30 compared with a deficit of 71 billion cubic feet (-2%) on Dec. 16. Chartbook: U.S. gas prices and inventoriesTraders no longer fear inventories will run critically low this winter; they are instead preparing to deal with a large surplus that will need to be stored in the summer of 2023. The market moved from a record inventory depletion (-995 billion cubic feet) in January 2022 to a record seasonal accumulation (+442 billion cubic feet) in October 2022. Exports increased by 2,001 billion cubic feet (+54%), mostly in the form of increased LNG exports of 1,418 billion cubic feet (+79%). Related columns:- U.S. gas exports squeeze domestic supply (Reuters, Sept. 29)- U.S. power producers are consuming near-record volumes of gas (Reuters, Aug. 2)- U.S. gas prices climb as stocks fail to rebuild fast enough (Reuters, July 29)- U.S. gas production must accelerate to meet LNG export demand (Reuters, June 1)John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst.

☆ In 2023, China's appetite for LNG set to rise amid tepid demand across Asia
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Emily Chow | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Summary China's 2023 LNG demand seen rising 9-14% - analystsNuclear power to dampen Japan, South Korea LNG demandLimited LNG supplies to come online globally next yearSINGAPORE, Jan 5 (Reuters) - China's liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand is forecast to recover in 2023 as the country emerges from COVID-19 controls to become the bright spot in Asia's consumption for the super-chilled fuel. This led Europe to import record amounts of LNG, pushing Asian spot LNG prices to historical highs. Asia LNG and Europe gas price chartNUCLEAR SWITCHChina's 2023 demand rebound would be offset by lower consumption from Japan, South Korea and South Asian nations, analysts said. As a result, Asia's share of global LNG demand would remain just above 60% for a second straight year. In response to high LNG prices, Japan and South Korea aim to increase nuclear power's contribution to their energy supply, leading analysts to cut estimates of 2023 LNG demand from those countries.

That outage dropped the United States behind top exporter Australia as global demand for the fuel boomed. In 2022, U.S. exports of natural gas as LNG rose 8% to 10.6 bcfd, just shy of Australia's 10.7 bcfd. The United States remained ahead of Qatar, which in third place shipped 10.5 bcfd, according to data provider Refinitiv. CROWN WITHIN SIGHTHowever, the loss of Freeport LNG's supply at mid-year took away the U.S. chance to take the crown as top exporter in 2022. In 2021, when prices in Asia were higher, just 35%, or about 3.3 bcfd, of U.S. LNG exports went to Europe.

Canada is in the midst of building a large terminal to export LNG, but its completion is two years away. Canadian gas production is on track to reach a record 18 bcfd in 2022 and 19 bcfd in 2023, according to energy consultancy Rystad Energy. Pipelines are also constrained in Canada due to swift production growth, particularly TC Energy Corp's (TRP.TO) NGTL pipeline system that ships gas around and out of western Canada. In August, gas prices in Alberta briefly turned negative because of bottlenecks stemming from NGTL maintenance. U.S. LNG exports are expected to reach 10.6 bcfd in 2022 and 12.3 bcfd in 2023, according to federal estimates.

☆ Natural-Gas Prices Swing Again in Unseasonal Slump
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Ryan Dezember | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Freeport LNG said it plans to restart its fire-damaged gas-export facility in Texas around the end of the year, later than originally expected. The most volatile year for natural-gas prices in the modern trading era has taken another sharp turn, this time a counterseasonal tumble. U.S. natural-gas futures have shed 24% since Thanksgiving, including an 11% drop on Monday, at a time of year when prices for the heating and power-generation fuel usually rise with demand to warm businesses and homes.

☆ Gazprom says European gas prices could pass $3,000 per thousand cubic metres
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

JERA president expects U.S. Freeport LNG shipments fully back by March, article with imageEnergy category · November 29, 2022 · 5:39 AM UTCJapan's biggest buyer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), JERA, expects U.S. Freeport LNG production will resume in mid-December, with its shipments expected to be fully back by March, President Satoshi Onoda said on Tuesday.

☆ U.S. natgas output, demand to hit record highs in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 8 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas production and demand will rise to record highs in 2022, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) on Tuesday. EIA projected dry gas production will rise to 98.07 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2022 and 99.69 bcfd in 2023 from a record 94.57 bcfd in 2021. The agency also projected gas consumption would rise from 84.01 bcfd in 2021 to 88.39 bcfd in 2022 before sliding to 85.08 bcfd in 2023. In 2020, coal output fell to 535 million short tons, its lowest level since 1965. That compares with 4.577 billion tonnes in 2020, which was the lowest since 1983 because the coronavirus pandemic depressed demand for energy.

☆ U.S. natgas futures jump 7% in volatile week on cold forecasts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Freeport LNG submitted a draft Root Cause Failure Analysis to the Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on Nov. 1, according to sources familiar with the filing. Freeport LNG, however, has not yet submitted a request to resume service. Prism Brilliance, Prism Diversity and Prism Courage were waiting off the coast from the plant, and Prism Agility was expected to arrive around Nov. 29. In what has already been an extremely volatile week, front-month gas futures rose 42.5 cents, or 7.1%, to settle at $6.400 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), the highest close since Oct. 14. With the coming of seasonally colder weather, Refinitiv projected average U.S. gas demand, including exports, would rise from 97.6 bcfd this week to 100.1 bcfd next week and 119.0 bcfd in two weeks.

"If LNG from Russia is disrupted, we will need to negotiate to take alternatives from other suppliers," Hirofumi Sato added. Meanwhile, China is expected to steer clear of spot LNG this winter amid higher prices and low demand growth due to COVID-19 curbs. This pushed Asian spot LNG prices to record levels, though they have since eased amid solid inventory levels. Asia LNG prices rise above seasonal levels for most of 2022 as supplies tighten after Russia cuts gas supply to EuropeBut supply risks persist. "Supply side risks remain with Freeport LNG still undergoing maintenance in the U.S. and Nigeria LNG under force majeure."

LNG prices recently have cooled with Europe's gas storage levels rising to over 90% of target capacity and a slow start to winter. In Asia, however, a declaration of force majeure on gas supplies by Malaysian state-energy company Petronas (PETR.KL) has LNG customers in Japan scrambling for alternative cargoes. A total of 88 tankers carrying 6.27 million tonnes of LNG departed in October from U.S. ports, mostly heading to Europe, the data showed. LNG shipments from U.S. ports fell slightly to 6.27 million tonnes in October, with more cargoes going to Asia, where customers of Malaysian liquefied gas scramble to source alternative supplies. The shutdown of the second-largest U.S. LNG export plant has hit many customers, including Japan's biggest LNG buyer, JERA, which last week said it will book a $751-million loss mostly due to higher purchase costs.

BP said it expects to pay around $2.5 billion in taxes for its British North Sea business this year, including $800 million in a windfall tax. BP, which increased its dividend by 10% in the quarter, will buy back $2.5 billion of shares after repurchasing $7.6 billion so far this year. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsGAS TRADINGBP's third-quarter underlying replacement cost profit of $8.15 billion, the company's definition of net income, compared with forecasts of a $6 billion profit in a company-provided survey of analysts. BP made a profit of $3.3 billion a year earlier and a 14-year high profit of $8.45 billion in the second quarter of 2022. Refining margins are also expected to remain high due to sanctions on Russian crude oil and refined products, BP said.

☆ U.S. natgas futures drop 10% on profit-taking, mild forecasts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Nov 1 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures dropped about 10% on Tuesday, following a 12% rise on Monday as traders took profits during a period of extreme volatility after the latest forecasts called for the weather to remain mild for the next two weeks. Analysts at energy consulting firm Gelber & Associates said the "early week surge in ... gas futures (saw) signs of exhaustion today as profit-takers pile on." Front-month gas futures fell 64.1 cents, or 10.1%, to settle at $5.714 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). Daily output was on track to drop about 4.5 bcfd to a preliminary five-month low of 95.7 bcfd on Tuesday. Last year, just 29%, or about 2.8 bcfd, of U.S. LNG exports went to Europe.

☆ U.S. regulators want more data on Texas Freeport LNG plant before restart
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 31 (Reuters) - U.S. federal regulators have told Freeport LNG to provide information needed for the planned restart of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant in Texas, the second-largest U.S. LNG export plant, as soon as possible to allow sufficient time for review. Freeport cannot restart without regulatory approval. At least four vessels were already lined up to pick up LNG at Freeport, according to Refinitiv data. Prism Brilliance and Prism Diversity were waiting off the coast from the plant, while Prism Courage was expected to arrive on Nov. 1 and Grace Freesia on Nov. 27. The plant's restart will provide needed fuel for heating and power as winter descends on the Northern Hemisphere.

☆ U.S. natgas futures falls 3% on mild weather forecasts
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Oct 28 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures fell about 3% on Friday on record output and forecasts for mild weather and low heating demand through mid November, which should allow utilities to inject more gas into storage than usual for at least a few more weeks. The market was still waiting for the return of Freeport LNG's export plant in Texas. On its first day as the front-month, gas futures for December delivery fell 19.1 cents, or 3.3%, to settle at $5.684 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). During the first nine months of 2022, roughly 60%, or 6.3 bcfd, of U.S. LNG exports went to Europe, as shippers diverted cargoes from Asia to fetch higher prices. Last year, just 29%, or about 2.8 bcfd, of U.S. LNG exports went to Europe.

Oct 24 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures jumped about 5% after sliding to a fresh seven-month low earlier in the session on a technical rebound and expectations demand would rise as liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports increase once export plants exit maintenance outages in coming weeks. Some traders expect Freeport will return to service in November while others believe the return will be delayed. Front-month gas futures rose 24.0 cents, or 4.8%, to settle at $5.199 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). During the first nine months of 2022, roughly 60%, or 6.3 bcfd, of U.S. LNG exports went to Europe, as shippers diverted cargoes from Asia to fetch higher prices. Last year, just 29%, or about 2.8 bcfd, of U.S. LNG exports went to Europe.

☆ U.S. FERC says winter natgas prices will be up from recent years
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 20 (Reuters) - Natural gas prices at major U.S. trading hubs for the upcoming winter are expected to remain higher than in recent years, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said on Thursday. Even if domestic gas production grows faster than domestic demand, "forecasts anticipate that continued growth in net exports, including from liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities, will place additional pressure on natural gas prices this winter," the agency said. "In total, the U.S. will add 43 gigawatts(GW)of net winter capacity between March 2022 and February 2023, mostly from solar and wind generation." "Natural gas pipelines in California may also face constraints this winter due to ongoing pipeline outages." The FERC warned that this winter, international markets will likely also affect the U.S. market, as they did at times last winter.

☆ Nigeria LNG outage threatens Europe, traders with higher costs
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Libgeorge Marwa Rashad | Marwa Rashad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LAGOS/LONDON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - European countries and gas traders are reeling from the latest LNG supply shock - a force majeure from Nigeria LNG - that threatens nearly 4% of global supply and further squeezes the continent's resources in absence of Russian pipeline gas. Nigeria LNG declared force majeure this week due to heavy flooding in that it said impacted virtually all of its gas suppliers. NLNG, with 22 million tonnes per year of capacity, said it is working to mitigate the impact, but flood waters are still rising. Unplanned disruptions in the United States, Nigeria and Australia have forced traders to pay millions in inflated costs for alternative supplies. France's Total, the second-largest offtaker, takes around 3 million tonnes per year.

☆ U.S. natgas falls 4% to 3-mth low on mild weather, global price collapse
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Oct 18 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures fell about 4% on Tuesday to a three-month low as oil and European gas prices dropped and forecasters called for milder U.S. weather over the next two weeks. U.S. gas prices have been declining for eight weeks as record domestic output and reduced liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports have allowed utilities to inject much more gas than usual into storage. Last year, just 29%, or about 2.8 bcfd, of U.S. LNG exports went to Europe. With milder weather coming, Refinitiv projected average U.S. gas demand, including exports, would fall from 101.0 bcfd this week to 95.9 bcfd next week. U.S. LNG exports, however, could start to rise this week if Cove Point returns to service as some traders expect.

☆ U.S. natgas jumps 4% on rising demand, renewed rail strike worries
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Nick OxfordSept 21 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures jumped about 4% to a near one-week high on Wednesday, on forecasts for stronger U.S. gas demand this week than previously expected and renewed worries about a possible U.S. rail strike. A rail strike could boost demand for gas by threatening coal supplies to power plants. Gas prices rose despite expectations gas demand would decline next month when the Cove Point liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Maryland shuts for a couple weeks of maintenance in October. Global gas prices have soared due to supply disruptions and sanctions linked to Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine. With the coming of cooler autumn weather, Refinitiv projected average U.S. gas demand, including exports, would slip from 92.3 bcfd this week to 89.8 bcfd next week.

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