The US LNG production was cut in January by the winter freeze; imports from Trinidad filled the gap.
LSEG's preliminary data shows that exports of liquefied gas from the U.S. in January fell to 11.3 million metric tons, down from December’s record of 11.5 MT. A winter freeze in late-January shut some plants while lowering output at others. On January 26, gas flows into U.S. liquefied natural gas plants reached a record low. Freeport LNG, the country's third largest LNG exporter, was partially offline during the freezing. Kinder Morgan's Elba Island plant in Georgia, which stopped taking in feedgas in the week before the freeze, imported LNG from Trinidad and Tobago. In the U.S., spot gas prices rose to record highs during the last week in January. Demand for the fuel was at near-record highs while production dropped to two-year lows as some oil and natural gas wells froze shut. According to LSEG, LNG companies appeared to be taking advantage of the high prices by sending cargoes to Elba Island in Georgia, Cove Point, Maryland, Everett, Massachusetts, and Canaport, New Brunswick. Everett and Canaport, both import terminals are unusually used to ship cargoes to Elba Island or Cove Point which exports gas from the U.S. into the rest of the globe. Due to pipeline infrastructure problems in New England, the U.S. imports three cargoes per year from Trinidad to Everett, which is its largest LNG exporter.
EUROPE INCREASES ITS LNG PURCHASES FROM THE U.S. The U.S. was on track to break another monthly record before the winter storm as the mild weather earlier in the month, and the full production of its two largest LNG plants?set daily feedgas records. According to LSEG, Europe, as part of its plan to phase-out Russian gas, and because arbitrage was in its favor, increased its purchases. In January, it bought 9.46 MT or 83% the total?American imports. In January, the U.S. was responsible for 60% of all European LNG purchases, a significant increase compared to January 2025 when 53% of European Union gas imports were supplied by the U.S. This trend is expected continue into 2026.
Natural gas prices in Asia were $10.43 per million British Thermal Units at the Japan Korea Marker benchmark and $11.81 in the Netherlands. U.S. LNG exported to Asia dropped to 690,000. This is around 6% of the total U.S. LNG.
The preliminary data shows that U.S. LNG exports to Latin America have increased to 490,000 tonnes.
Egypt purchased 500,000 tonnes of U.S. LNG in January. As the month ended, there were 210,000 tonnes of LNG on the water. They had left U.S. LNG facilities but were still available for orders. Curtis Williams, Houston (reporting; Nathan Crooks, Paul Simao and Nathan Crooks)
(source: Reuters)
