U.S. freezing weather hinders LNG shipments

Scheduled exports of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) were disrupted by the recent freeze that affected Texas and Louisiana, temporarily limiting the supply of the fuel used in power plants and heating systems.

Due to severe weather in the U.S., ports were closed and domestic gas production was decreased, which required LNG exporters to reschedule their customers’ orders. Wednesday’s pipeline gas flows to liquefaction facilities were 45 per cent less than those of the previous week.

At least one planned shipment was cancelled by the Cameron LNG export facility in Louisiana, according to Bloomberg citing people with knowledge of the situation.

According to them, several additional scheduled deliveries from the Texas facility of Cameron and Cheniere Energy Inc. in Corpus Christi were also postponed.

Cameron LNG did not provide a comment in response to the plant’s operations earlier this week, a spokesman declined to comment. Additionally, a Cheniere representative declined to comment.

The disruptions to exports are probably temporary, as next week is predicted to bring warmer temperatures. The majority of the U.S. is expected to see milder-than-normal temperatures between January 23 and 27, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

On the other hand, with winter coming to an end, and gas inventories in Europe and Asia still relatively high, the impact on the market is expected to minimise. Wednesday saw a five-month low for European gas futures.