Editorial comment
We’ve made it through 1Q24. The end of March, and the beginning of April, represents the end of Winter in the UK; hopefully, it will also bring some warmer (and drier) weather with it.
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Daylight Savings started on 31 March this year, with the clocks ‘springing’ forward, signifying the start of longer days and lighter evenings in the Northern Hemisphere.
If more mild weather persists, as it has during January and February (the Met Office noted record UK temperatures for January 2024 and February 2024),1,2 it may be that the demand for LNG across Europe declines slightly. If this is the case, Europe will have to store any excess energy until it is needed. CB&I’s article, starting on p.19, looks at how identifying key risks can help optimise and de-risk LNG storage projects from the very beginning. The second part of this two-part article (coming in the June 2024 issue of LNG Industry) will address key early inputs and their impacts on the selection of optimal tank configuration.
March also saw what perhaps is the most prestigious film event of the year: the 96th Academy Awards. Americans emerged victorious: Oppenheimer was the standout success, winning seven awards, with Robert Downey Jr. winning Best Supporting Actor; Emma Stone won Best Actress for Poor Things; Da’Vine Joy Randolph won Best Supporting Actress for The Holdovers; and Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell came out on top for their Original Song, ‘What Was I Made For?’ from the blockbuster hit Barbie, to name a few.3
The US has also come out on top as the world’s largest LNG exporter in 2023, with US LNG exports averaging 11.9 billion ft3/d – a 12% increase (1.3 billion ft3/d) compared with 2022, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Natural Gas Monthly.4 Like 2022, Europe remained the primary destination for US LNG exports in 2023, accounting for 66% of US exports, followed by Asia at 26%.4
However, despite a large chunk of US LNG being exported to Asia (especially Japan and South Korea, which were the fourth and fifth-highest US LNG export volumes by country in 2023),4 only one US cargo reached Asia via Panama by 27 March 2024 according to S&P Global Commodity Insights data, with a record 24 US LNG cargoes choosing the longer route through the Cape of Good Hope as a result of long wait times and Red Sea tensions.5
Speaking of the US, make sure to keep an eye out for the 2nd edition of the North America supplement to LNG Industry, due to be published with the July 2024 issue. This special issue will look at recent trends and developments in the US, Canada, and Mexico, along with project case studies about various planned and active LNG projects. For now, make sure to read Rystad Energy’s regional report on Canada (p.10), which outlines recent developments in Canadian LNG.
References
- UK January temperature record, 28 January 2024’, Met Office, https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/binaries/content/assets/metofficegovuk/pdf/weather/learn-about/uk-past-events/interesting/2024/2024_03_jan_hightemp_scotland.pdf
- ‘Warmest February on record for England and Wales’, Met Office, (1 March 2024), https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/press-office/news/weather-and-climate/2024/february-2024-warm-and-wet-for-the-uk
- ‘The 96th Academy Awards | 2024’, Oscars, (10 March 2024), https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2024
- ‘The United States was the world’s largest liquefied natural gas exporter in 2023’, U.S. Energy Information Administration, (1 April 2024), https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=61683
- ‘US exports record number of LNG cargoes to Asia via Cape of Good Hope in March’, S&P Global Commodity Insights, (27 March 2024), https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/market-insights/latest-news/lng/032724-us-exports-record-number-of-lng-cargoes-to-asia-via-cape-of-good-hope-in-march
