Higher LNG Exports to Drive Up US Natural Gas Prices, EIA Projects
(Reuters) — Increasing exports of U.S. LNG through 2050 will raise domestic prices for natural gas, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.
In a supplement to its Annual Energy Outlook 2023, the EIA studied the impact on natural gas prices at the Henry Hub in three scenarios with varying levels of LNG exports.
The EIA said in the case of lower international prices, the U.S. may export 15.3 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of LNG in 2050, projecting Henry Hub prices at $3.30 per million British thermal units (MMBtu).
In the opposite case of higher international prices together with faster development of export facilities, the EIA saw 48.2 bcfd of LNG exports and Henry Hub prices at $4.30 in 2050.
U.S. natural gas futures NGc1 were trading about $2.40 per MMBtu on Wednesday, while analysts forecast prices at the Henry Hub benchmark in Louisiana averaging $3.23 in 2023, their lowest since 2020, before rising to $3.71 in 2024.
The agency forecast that overall gas exports, both by pipeline or as LNG, will become the largest component of U.S. natural gas demand by the early 2030s.
U.S. LNG exports facilities currently have an operating capacity of 11.4 bcfd, with an additional 7.3 bcfd under construction and another 18.3 bcfd capacity approved but awaiting a final investment decision, the EIA said.
The U.S. became the world's largest LNG exporter in the first half of 2022, averaging nearly 11.2 bcfd of exports that made up 12% of dry natural gas production, it added.
Related News
Related News
- 1,000-Mile Pipeline Exit Plan by Hope Gas Alarms West Virginia Producers
- Valero Plans to Shut California Refinery, Takes $1.1 Billion Hit
- Three Killed, Two Injured in Accident at LNG Construction Site in Texas
- Boardwalk’s Texas Gas Launches Open Season for 2 Bcf/d Marcellus-to-Louisiana Pipeline Expansion
- Traverse Pipeline Approved to Move 1.75 Bcf/d of Gas Along 160-Mile South Texas–Katy Route
- New Alternatives for Noise Reduction in Gas Pipelines
- Construction Begins on Ghana's $12 Billion Petroleum Hub, But Not Without Doubts
- DOE Considers Cutting Over $1.2 Billion in Carbon Capture Project Funding
- Valero Plans to Shut California Refinery, Takes $1.1 Billion Hit
- Newsom Seeks to Aid Struggling Refiners Following Valero’s California Exit
Comments