Page 13 - NorthAmOil Week 35

NorthAmOil PERFORMANCE NorthAmOil

US LNG exports to bounce back

after Hurricane Laura disruptions

US US LNG exports are expected to rebound fairly comes as a broader recovery is underway from
promptly after Hurricane Laura – which passed the LNG slowdown over the summer, when
through the Gulf of Mexico and made landfall numerous cargoes scheduled for loading from
near Cameron, Louisiana – disrupted operations US terminals were cancelled. Nonetheless, Ref-
at major export terminals last week. However, as initiv data showed that LNG exports were on
of September 2, feed gas flows to both Cheniere track to fall to 2.1bn cubic feet (59.5mn cubic
Energy’s Sabine Pass terminal and Sempra Ener- metres) per day on August 27, which would have
gy’s Cameron LNG facility are reported to have been their lowest level since February 2019.
remained at zero. Despite the disruptions caused by Hurricane
On August 31 it was reported that Cheniere, Laura, though, US LNG exports are gathering
the leading US LNG exporter, was restarting steam after a significant slowdown over the sum- The restart of
operations at Sabine Pass in Louisiana, which mer. In a different part of the US – in Georgia
had been shut down in preparation for the hur- – Kinder Morgan was reported to be loading its operations at
ricane making landfall in the area. The facility first cargo in seven months from the Elba Island
is reported not to have suffered any significant LNG terminal. these terminals
damage. However, debris and damage from the The Maran Gas Hector LNG tanker arrived
hurricane were reported to be holding up the at the facility last week, in a boost to Kinder comes as a
restart of operations on September 1. Morgan after a lull in exports from Elba Island broader recovery
Also on August 31, Sempra said it had been amid a downturn in demand. The company
able to conduct preliminary visual inspections of also brought its tenth – and final – small-scale is underway
the nearby Cameron LNG terminal. These initial liquefaction train online at the terminal last
assessments indicated that the facility had sus- week. from the LNG
tained “minimal flooding and no catastrophic With Elba Island fully online, the first wave
wind damage”, Sempra said. Meanwhile, market of US LNG export capacity construction is now slowdown over
sources have been reported as saying that the complete. A second wave is under way, also pri- the summer.
lack of general road access to Cameron LNG is marily on the Gulf Coast. Indeed, the two pro-
also hindering efforts to resume operations at the jects under construction currently – Venture
plant. Global’s Calcasieu Pass LNG and ExxonMobil
No date for a restart of Cameron LNG has and Qatar Petroleum’s (QP) Golden Pass LNG –
been provided, though the company said full both had to provide updates in the wake of Hur-
operations would be restored “as soon as safely ricane Laura passing through the area. Neither
practicable”. site is reported to have been significantly affected
The restart of operations at these terminals by the storm.™

Week 35 03•September•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P13