US natural gas production edges higher
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported December 2 that total dry natural gas production increased by less than 1% from last week, while both imports and exports increased.
EIA reported total dry natural gas production reached 96bn ft3/day for the reporting week ended December 1. That marks a 0.9% increase from the 95.1bn ft3/day reported during the week ended November 24.
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In its latest Drilling Productivity Report, EIA estimates that December production from the primary inland shale basins will average 89.4bn ft3/day, a 0.3% increase from November levels if forecasts prove accurate.
Piped imports of natural gas from Canada, meanwhile, increased nearly 4% from the previous week to average 5.3bn ft3/day. Piped exports to Mexico increased 3.8% from the week prior to average 5.4bn ft3/day.
There were 23 LNG cargoes that departed US export terminals during the reporting week. Eight of those left from the Sabine Pass terminal, five sailed from Freeport and four departed from Corpus Christi, all in Texas. Three left from the Cameron terminal in Louisiana, two left from Cove Point off Maryland and one sailed from the Elba Island facility off the coast of Georgia.
Combined, those vessels carried 84bn ft3 of natural gas in liquid form.
EIA put nominal baseload liquefaction capacity at 9.5bn ft3/day in November. By the end of 2022, that could reach 11.4bn ft3/day. By 2024, when the Golden Pass terminal in Texas comes on stream, EIA expects peak export capacity will reach an estimated 16.3bn ft3/day, far greater than the 10.3bn ft3/day coming from Qatar and the 11.4bn ft3/day from Australia this year. That would make the US the world's leading LNG exporter should all projects develop as expected.