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Cove Point News

01 Oct 2025

US LNG Exports Hit Record High

© vladsv / Adobe Stock

U.S. LNG exports hit a record in September at 9.4 million metric tons, beating their previous record of 9.3 million MT in August, according to preliminary data from financial firm LSEG.The increase was fueled by strong sales to Europe and Asia, and came despite unplanned shutdowns at the country's largest facility, Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass plant in Texas, and a planned outage at Berkshire Hathaway's Cove Point plant, according to LSEG data.The U.S. is the world's largest LNG exporter and the level of its exports can influence global markets.Europe remains the favored destination for U.S.

09 Oct 2024

US LNG Exports Dip in September

© vladsv / Adobe Stock

U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas fell slightly in September as plant maintenance trimmed output, while Europe remained the leading destination, data from financial firm LSEG showed.Gulf Coast plants escaped any major impact from hurricanes last month, helping the U.S. to retain its status as the world's largest LNG exporter.Exports of the superchilled gas fell to 7.26 million metric tons in September, just down from August, when the U.S. sold 7.48 MT, LSEG data showed.U.S.

05 Sep 2024

US LNG Export Dominance Tested as Europe's Demand Wilts

The United States has remained the largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) so far in 2024, but a steep drop in selling prices and a sharp swing in export volumes to key markets is likely testing exporter appetite to stay on top.The United States shipped a record 56.9 million metric tons of LNG during the first eight months of 2024, according to Kpler.That surpassed the 54.3 million tons from Australia and 53.7 million tons from Qatar during that period, and marks only the second straight year that U.S.

01 Nov 2023

US October LNG Exports Climb to Second Highest Level on Record

© Wojciech Wrzesień / Adobe Stock

U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) producers ramped up exports in October, to 7.92 million metric tons, according to data provider LSEG, the second-highest monthly level on record.Exports were just shy of the record 8.01 million metric tons in April this year, and were up from 7.12 million metric tons in September, when plant maintenance reduced U.S. production.The U.S. was the world's largest exporter of LNG in the first half of this year, according to the Energy Information Agency, ahead of Qatar and Australia.

01 Nov 2022

U.S. LNG Exports Dip in October

©alexlmx/AdobeStock

U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in October remained capped by plant outages, with producers shifting more cargoes to Asian buyers last month, according to Refinitiv Eikon tanker monitoring data, after of a pipeline leak cut supplies from Malaysia. LNG prices recently have cooled with Europe's gas storage levels rising to over 90% of target capacity and a slow start to winter. In Asia, however, a declaration of force majeure on gas supplies by Malaysian state-energy company Petronas PETR.KL  has LNG customers in Japan scrambling for alternative cargoes.

04 Oct 2022

More U.S. LNG Heads to Europe Despite Output Constraints

Credit: alexlmx/AdobeStock

U.S. producers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) boosted exports to Europe in September even as a plant outage kept overall shipments below the average for the first eight months of 2022, Refinitiv Eikon data showed on Monday.A June fire at the United States' second-largest exporter Freeport LNG has the country's output below its full processing capacity even as demand and prices for the superchilled gas soar on European buyers seeking alternatives to Russian gas.A total of 87 cargoes departed from U.S.

21 Jun 2022

Tankers Divert to Trinidad, Maryland After Freeport LNG Blast

At least six tankers set to load liquefied natural gas (LNG) at Freeport LNG this month have been diverted following the June 8 blast that shut the Texas facility, Refinitiv Eikon vessel tracking data showed.A partial restart of the Quintana, Texas, plant is not expected until at least September, the company said last week, leaving about 40 cargoes to be canceled or re-scheduled. The loss has European LNG buyers and some U.S. shale producers reeling, while rivals Cheniere Energy and Sempra LNG rush to produce more LNG to offset the losses.Freeport accounts for roughly 20% of U.S. LNG processing capacity, drawing 2.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of natural gas, primarily from U.S. shale fields.

15 Sep 2021

Maryland Cove Point LNG Export Plant to Start Work Next Week

(Acroterion / CC BY-SA 3.0)

Berkshire Hathaway Energy's Cove Point liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant in Maryland will shut for about three weeks of maintenance starting around Sept. 20, according to pipeline data and analysts.Officials at Berkshire Hathaway Energy on Wednesday confirmed the pipeline and compressor station maintenance will start on Sept. 20 but would not confirm the shutdown of the liquefaction plant until about the day before an outage.Traders noted the reduction in gas flows to LNG export plants should weigh on U.S.

02 Sep 2020

US Wind Farm Support Vessel Gets Bow Extension

Delta Escape (Photo: DLBA)

A bow extension will allow Cape Henry Launch Services' workboat Delta Escape to push up against offshore wind turbines to support the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) pilot program off Virginia Beach.Naval architecture and marine engineering firm DLBA, a division of Gibbs & Cox, said it was recently engaged to complete the structural design for the project.The bow was built out of aluminum, and added on to the existing aluminum hull structure. The DLBA team created the push…

08 Jul 2020

US LNG Exports at 20-month Low

(File photo: Freeport LNG)

Natural gas flows to U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants plunged this month after falling to a 20-month low in June as coronavirus lockdowns cut global demand for the fuel.Before the pandemic slashed energy demand, U.S. producers counted on LNG exports to keep growing fast as an outlet for their record gas output. But after soaring 68% in 2019 and 53% in 2018, U.S. LNG exports were only expected to rise about 7% in 2020.Gas pipeline flows to U.S. LNG export plants dropped…

10 Jun 2020

LNG Carrier to Deliver Gas to US with European Stockpiles Near Full

A ship carrying liquefied natural gas from Nigeria is expected to drop its cargo in Georgia as energy firms look for a place to store the super-cooled fuel with prices higher in the United States and stockpiles nearing full capacity in Europe.The ship, Madrid Spirit, does not have a destination listed, according to data from Refinitiv, but is located a day or two away from Kinder Morgan Inc's Elba Island LNG plant.A unit of Royal Dutch Shell Plc chartered the ship, people familiar with the matter said.Shell, which has a long-term contract to use Elba, declined to comment.The United States, which is the world's third biggest LNG exporter behind Australia and Qatar…

07 May 2020

Virus Lockdowns Pummel Global Gas Demand, Force LNG Output Cuts

Lockdowns to slow the coronavirus pandemic are pummelling gas demand in the world's biggest buyers of liquefied natural gas (LNG), pushing Asia's spot prices to record lows and forcing some suppliers to start cutting output. Economies worldwide have ground to a halt as virus containment measures have taken their toll, slashing gas demand for power generation, heating, cooking, vehicles and chemical manufacture. The world's biggest LNG markets - Japan, China, South Korea, and India - are all seeing a drop in demand. Asia's spot LNG prices dropped to $1.85 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) last week, the lowest ever, as cargoes have flooded the market. "At prices in the $2/mmBtu range ... some producers are getting close to not recovering cash costs of their operations.

25 Apr 2019

MOL Names New LNG Vessels for Tokyo Gas

Japanese transport major Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) named two newbuilding LNG carriers for the provider of natural gas Tokyo Gas at the Tsu shipyard of Japan Marine United Corporation (JMU).The newbuilding LNG tankers named as Energy Innovator and Energy Universe are the 10th and 11th LNG carriers that Tokyo LNG Tanker owns and manages.MOL is involved in the management of eight of those ships, including the two newbuilding carriers.The two vessels will transport LNG from the Cove Point LNG Project in the United States to Tokyo Gas, said a press release.Both vessels have a length of 299.9 meters, breadth of 48.9 meters and an 11.5-meter draft.Among the many guests on hand for the ceremony was Tokyo Gas President Takashi Uchida…

24 Apr 2019

6,000th Neopanamax Transit at Panama Canal

Photo: ACP

The Panama Canal welcomed its 6,000th Neopanamax vessel through the Expanded Canal, underscoring the route’s ability to accommodate the highly-dynamic liquefied natural gas (LNG) segment, which first transited the waterway following the inauguration of the Expanded Canal less than three years ago.The LNG vessel Energy Liberty completed the milestone transit today travelling southbound from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Constructed in 2018, the vessel has a cargo capacity of 165…

15 Feb 2019

GasLog: LNG Demand Grew 9% in 2018

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is expected to have increased by 9%, from 288 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) in 2017 to 313 mtpa in 2018, said GasLog.The Monaco-based owner, operator and manager of LNG carriers said in a stock exchange announcement that China’s LNG imports increased by approximately 16 mtpa, or 41%, to 54 mtpa in 2018, driven mainly by continued coal-to-gas switching in the industrial, commercial and residential sectors.South Korea, Pakistan, Thailand and Mexico also experienced strong growth in LNG imports during 2018. The outlook remains robust, with Wood Mackenzie forecasting compound annual growth in global LNG demand of 6% between 2018 and 2025.This growth is expected to be broad-based…

23 Dec 2018

DOE Streamlines LNG Export Requirements

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) would now only require U.S. LNG exporters to report the country or countries of LNG deliveries, not country of end-use, to satisfy the DOE’s destination reporting requirement.Further, DOE announced additional efforts to streamline the reporting requirements for LNG export supply sales and contracts.“With the United States now being the world’s top producer of oil and natural gas, it is imperative that U.S. LNG companies have all the tools they need to get their American product into the international market,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry.“By streamlining the destination reporting requirements, the Department of Energy is taking an important deregulatory step forward in order to better provide reliable U.S.

24 Oct 2018

FERC Green Signal for Calcasieu Pass LNG

Venture Global LNG announced that the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has issued the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the company’s 10 MTPA Calcasieu Pass facility on the Gulf of Mexico.On August 31, 2018, FERC notified Venture Global LNG that it plans to issue a Final Order for the Calcasieu Pass facility and the associated TransCameron Pipeline no later than January 22, 2019, in line with the Notice of Revised Schedule for Environmental Review issued on May 18, 2018.The project remains on track for a Final Investment Decision and commencement of construction in early 2019 with full commercial operations expected in 2022.“FERC’s issuance of the final EIS is an important milestone for our Calcasieu Pass project.

03 Oct 2018

New LNG Carrier for Tokyo Gas Named

(Image: NYK)

A naming ceremony for a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier was held Wednesday  at the Tsu shipyard of Japan Marine United Corporation (JMU) in Tsu city, Japan.NYK and Tokyo LNG Tanker Co. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd., have a long-term charter contract for this vessel.At the ceremony, Takashi Uchida, president at Tokyo Gas, named the ship Energy Glory, and his wife cut the ceremonial rope holding the vessel in place. NYK president Tadaaki Naito was…

31 Jul 2018

4,000th Neopanamax Vessel Transits the Panama Canal

LNG tanker Maria Energy completed the milestone transit traveling from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean on July 29. (Photo: Panama Canal Authority)

The Panama Canal registered the transit of its 4,000th Neopanamax vessel through the Expanded Canal, underscoring the steady growth of the burgeoning liquefied natural gas (LNG) segment – which began transiting the waterway for the first time following the inauguration of the Expanded Canal.The LNG tanker Maria Energy completed the milestone transit traveling southbound from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean on July 29."The steady increase in Neopanamax transits reflect our customers’ confidence in the Expanded Canal…

26 Jun 2018

Expanded Panama Canal Commemorates Two Year Anniversary

In the two years since its inauguration, the Expanded Panama Canal continues to offer record growth across segments and rising trade opportunities around the world. The Panama Canal marked the two-year anniversary of the inauguration of its Canal Expansion, the largest enhancement project in the waterway's 103-year history, on June 26. To date, the Canal has transited 3,745 Neopanamax vessels, traffic that confirms the route's efficiency and the maritime industry's confidence in the Expanded Canal. "Two years ago, we pledged to usher in a new era for world commerce," said Panama Canal Administrator Jorge L. Quijano. The performance of the Expanded Canal's Neopanamax Locks continues to exceed expectations.

21 May 2018

Tokyo Gas Takes First LNG Cargo from Cove Point

Japan received its first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on Monday from Dominion Energy Inc's newly completed Cove Point export plant, the beginning of a jump in imports from the United States by the world's biggest buyer of the fuel.The docking of the tanker LNG Sakura at Tokyo Gas Co's Negishi terminal near Tokyo is another marker of shifting global energy flows as the United States ramps up exports of gas and oil from shale formations.The cargo is the first of 2.2 million tonnes of LNG a year Japanese companies are purchasing under long-term contracts from Cove Point in Maryland. A ramp-up of purchases now by Japan may draw…

30 Apr 2018

Panama Canal Welcomes Inaugural Transit of LNG Sakura

The Panama Canal welcomed the inaugural transit of the LNG Sakura as it carried the first-ever liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipment from the Dominion Cove Point terminal in the United States to Japan. The transit, which occurred this past weekend, marks the beginning of a new LNG commercial route between the United States and Asia from the recently inaugurated Dominion Cove Point terminal in Maryland, the second U.S. LNG export terminal to come online after Sabine Pass began operations in 2016. Dominion Cove Point has two main clients: ST Cove Point, a consortium consisting of Sumitomo Corporation and Tokyo Gas; and Gail Global LNG, a subsidiary of GAIL LTD of India.

16 Apr 2018

First Cove Point LNG Lifting Departs Maryland

The first contractual liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo from Dominion Energy Inc's newly constructed Cove Point LNG export plant in Maryland in the United States left the facility on Monday, Thomson Reuters Eikon ship tracking data showed. The cargo is expected to act as a drag on spot LNG prices <LNG-AS> as it coincides with the resumption of exports of the fuel from the Papua New Guinea LNG plant, which had been shut following a powerful earthquake. The 160,000-cubic metre LNG tanker Adam LNG left Cove Point on Monday with a draft of 91 percent, suggesting it was full, according to the data. Its destination was not immediately clear. The facility has exported two commissioning or test cargoes already, which were sold to Royal Dutch Shell.

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