There was no slowdown for US-sourced LNG prices in the week to Oct. 5 as the Platts Gulf Coast Marker continued its bullish run along with the Asian JKM and Atlantic NWE markers.
The Platts GCM gained $10.40/MMBtu week on week and was assessed at $37/MMBtu on Oct. 5. These were the highest week-on-week gains recorded in GCM since Platts began assessing this market.
The main drivers were the ongoing supply tightness and inventory concerns in the Asian and European markets, hence US Gulf Coast terminals continued to be at near full utilization. Feedgas nominations to the liquefaction facilities in the US Gulf Coast were 10.3 Bcf/d on average in the week of Sept. 28-Oct. 5, data from S&P Global Platts Analytics showed.
The Berkshire Hathaway-operated Cove Point, Maryland, export project continued on its second week of maintenance. The maintenance is to last for about three weeks, according to the operator.
Maintenance work at a section of the waterways to Cheniere’s Sabine Pass liquefaction plant could potentially impact comings and goings to the facility. A section of Sabine/Neches waterway will be closed Oct. 7 and Oct. 13 due to pipeline removal work, according to a notice to shippers issued Oct. 4.
In tender news, Argentina’s IEASA issued a buy tender for four partial LNG cargoes for October-December DES Escobar, closing Oct. 5. The offers were submitted by TotalEnergies, PetroChina and Cheniere. Given the draft restriction at Escobar terminal, market participants expected the other half of the cargoes to end up in Brazil.
In the Panama Canal, waiting times for LNG ships were recorded in the lower single-digit numbers by the Panama Canal Authority for the week of Sept. 28-Oct. 5.
Source: Platts