With the winter 2021–2022 shortfall in natural gas supplies from Russia, Europe accelerated purchases of U.S. LNG at a rate of 8 BCF/d in the first three months of 2022.

U.S. LNG Exports: Recent Trends — figure 2
Fig. 2 of 3 · Chart 2022-21 · Source: EPRINC
U.S. LNG Exports: Recent Trends — figure 3
Fig. 3 of 3 · Chart 2022-21 · Source: EPRINC
  • Ahead of winter 2021-2022, European natural gas inventories were at 2.8 trillion cubic feet, well below the five-year average of 3.3. Critically, Russia’s GazProm-owned and Germany-based Astora storage was at 25% of capacity instead of the usual 70%.
  • In response to European shortages, close to fifty U.S. LNG cargos (about 100 billion cubic feet) were diverted to Europe. During January, U.S. LNG made up 46% of European LNG imports compared to those from Qatar, Nigeria, and Algeria at 10%, 9%, and 8%, respectively.
  • Europe has 22 BCF/d of LNG regasification capacity, generally running at 25% utilization. With higher LNG imports, Europe’s LNG terminals were running at an average of almost 40% during the winter.

Additional information on recent U.S. LNG trends is available from the EIA: U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas Exports to Europe Increased During the First 4 Months of 2022.

From the EPRINC Chart of the Week archive.