The USA LNG export up 13.0% to 59.9 mln tonnes in Jan-Sep 2022 - Banchero Costa
In Jan-Sep 2022, the USA exported 59.9 mln tonnes of LNG, which was just a +13.0% y-o-y increase, based on Refinitiv vessel tracking data, according to Banchero Costa's report. In Jan-Sep 2022, Australia exported 60.2 mln tonnes of LNG, up +1.1% y- o-y, whilst Qatar exported 59.2 mln tonnes, up +1.0% y-o-y.
In terms of destinations for American LNG, the main routes are now transatlantic to the EU and UK. In Jan-Sep 2022, LNG exports from the USA to the European Union increased by +164.1% y-o-y to 31.6 mln tonnes from 12.0 mln t in the same period of 2021.
The EU was now the destination for 52.7% of the USA’s total LNG exports in the first 9 months of 2022. Volumes to the UK also surged by +158.4% y-o-y in 5.3 mln tonnes, from 2.1 mln t in the same period of last year.
The UK was the destination for 8.9% of American LNG shipments so far this year.
The third top destination after the EU and the UK is South Korea, which accounted for 7.2% of USA LNG shipments in Jan-Sep 2022. Shipments from the USA to South Korea declined by -36.6% y-o-y so far this year to 4.3 mln tonnes.
Exports to Japan also declined in 2022, by -42.1% y-o-y to 3.0 mln tonnes, with Japan holding a 5.0% share.
Shipments to Mainland China also crashed by -87.0% y-o-y in Jan-Sep 2022 to 0.9 mln tonnes, from 6.6 mln tonnes in the same period of 2021.
Volumes from the USA to India also declined by -50.9% y-o-y to 1.6 mln tonnes in Jan-Sep 2022.
To South America volumes declined by -59.2% y-o-y to 3.6 mln tonnes.
In 2021, the United States were the third largest exporter of LNG after Australia and Qatar, with a 18.8% share of global export volumes. In the full 12 months of 2021, the USA exported 72.5 mln tonnes of LNG, which represented a +50.3% y- o-y increase from the 48.2 mln tonnes shipped in 2020.
In Jan-Sep 2022, the European Union imported 73.2 mln tonnes of LNG, an increase of +69.3% y-o-y from the 43.3 mln tonnes imported in the same period of 2021. The EU27 now accounts for 24.3% of global seaborne LNG imports.
In the same period, the United Kingdom also imported 13.7 mln tonnes of LNG, up +73.5% y-o-y from the 7.9 mln tonnes in the same period of 2021. The UK now accounts for 4.6% of global LNG imports.
Mainland China imported just 46.1 mln tonnes of LNG in Jan-Sep 2022, down -22.0% y-o-y from 59.1 mln tonnes in the same period of 2021. India saw a -17.6% y-o-y decline to 14.7 mln tonnes, from 17.9 mln tonnes in Jan-Sep 2021. Imports to Japan declined a -1.1% y-o-y to 56.6 mln t. Volumes to South Korea also declined by -1.3% y-o-y to 34.4 mln tonnes in Jan-Sep 2022.
