US LNG deals surge with 30% of planned export capacity sold

About 30% of planned U.S. LNG export capacity has been booked since war disrupted European energy supplies, a dramatic reversal of fortune for as many as 10 new projects stymied by a lack of financing.

Energy Transfer LP on Tuesday announced an 18-year supply deal with South Korea’s SK Gas Trading LLC in the latest sign that its long-stalled Lake Charles LNG terminal is gaining momentum. A day earlier, Energy Transfer inked a 20-year contract with Gunvor Group Ltd while French utility Engie SA locked in nearly 2 million tons of LNG from NextDecade Corp.’s proposed plant.

Low winter inventories and record high natural gas prices in Europe already had two-thirds of U.S. LNG cargoes heading to Europe before Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The war pushed Europe to ease dependence on Russia and expand port infrastructure to take in more LNG tankers. Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden has pledged to send an additional 15 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Europe by the end of the year.

Since then, prospects have improved for about a dozen of U.S. LNG projects that held federal permits but lacked supply deals and funds to move forward. Long-term purchasing agreements are critical to securing financing for the multi-billion-dollar projects, demonstrating market demand for the final product and ensuring that lenders will be repaid.

As European buyers have become more active, China and other Asian customers have emerged as the largest long-term buyers of U.S. LNG as part of a strategic move to secure supplies and prevent a bidding war between the two continents over the every last molecule available on the spot market.