Natural gas shipments to nine major U.S. liquefied natural gas export facilities are forecast to register a 16-week low on Tuesday, with daily feedgas volumes projected to drop to 15.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) from 16.3 bcfd on Monday.
That 15.1 bcfd level marks the weakest daily feedgas figure since January 27. For scale, one billion cubic feet of gas can supply roughly five million U.S. homes for a day, underscoring the scale of the volumes involved.
Average deliveries to U.S. LNG export plants have eased to 16.9 bcfd in May, down from a monthly record of 18.8 bcfd recorded in April. The contraction in flows is attributed to spring maintenance work at several facilities, including units associated with QatarEnergy, Exxon Mobil's Golden Pass facility, and Freeport LNG in Texas.
Operational timing at individual plants has been a significant factor in the decline. Golden Pass, which shipped its first LNG cargo in late April, had received almost no feedgas for six straight days and was expected to resume operations with flows around 0.3 bcfd on Tuesday. Such intermittent throughput at a major terminal contributes materially to day-to-day swings in aggregate U.S. export feedgas.
The broader context remains that the United States emerged as the world’s largest LNG exporter in 2023, surpassing Australia and Qatar. U.S. gas supplies have been an increasingly important source of global flexibility after supply disruptions tied to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, developments that have pushed international gas prices higher.
Data points:
- Projected daily feedgas to nine major U.S. LNG plants: 15.1 bcfd (Tuesday).
- Previous day feedgas: 16.3 bcfd (Monday).
- Average U.S. LNG feedgas in May: 16.9 bcfd; April record: 18.8 bcfd.
- Golden Pass expected restart flow: ~0.3 bcfd after nearly six days of negligible receipts.
The numbers highlight how maintenance cycles and isolated operational issues can compress U.S. export feedgas volumes even as the country retains its position as the top global LNG exporter. Market participants and downstream stakeholders will watch plant turnarounds and restart schedules closely for indications of whether flows will rebound toward April levels or remain depressed through the remainder of the spring maintenance window.