Home / Shipping News / International Shipping News / Historic discharge of US LNG from floating storage, possible round two in December

Historic discharge of US LNG from floating storage, possible round two in December

US volumes seem to be the main barometer of floating cargoes due to their destination flexibility. With limited demand options globally, they were being utilized for storage until higher November prices emerged.

In the period between October 28 and November 11, the US discharged nearly 3.8 Bcm of LNG or 271 Mcm/d — 60% higher than current loading rates. This volume is far higher than what we saw even in last fall’s major global floating storage overhang.

One of the biggest reasons for this change is simply that US tanker loadings have virtually doubled in the last year. Over 58% of the volumes discharged in the Atlantic basin, highlighting that voyage distance wasn’t a motivating factor in the apparent float.

Going forward, we are seeing a warning sign of another bulge in floating volumes, as cargoes in the 15- to 30-day range start pushing up. Eventually, if these don’t discharge, they will elevate the 30- to 60-day volumes.

Given the lighter contango into December, we don’t necessarily see as strong an incentive to float, but given the weak global demand, some volumes may have to for non-economic reasons.

For the moment, shipping rates in the Atlantic remain fairly quiet at $120,000/day for the last week.
Source: Platts

Recent Videos

Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and International Shipping