US LNG gas demand hits record high on last day of the year

Houston: So, guess what? On the last day of the year, U.S. natural gas demand from LNG plants hit a whopping 15.2 billion cubic feet! That’s a big deal and shows that the industry is gearing up for a strong year ahead. This surge is partly thanks to two new gas-processing plants that are about to kick off operations.

Looking ahead, experts are predicting that demand will jump to 17.8 billion cubic feet per day next year. This is due to the new Venture Global LNG plant in Louisiana and the expansion of Cheniere Energy’s facility in Texas. It’s exciting stuff!

Analysts think that this rising demand could lead to higher production levels in the U.S. and possibly push up prices at the Henry Hub, which is the main gas exchange in Louisiana. Just to give you an idea, gas prices were up 48 cents on Tuesday, hitting $3.94 per million cubic feet.

The U.S. is the top exporter of LNG globally and supplies a lot to Europe and Asia. Interestingly, LNG exports usually spike during the cooler months, which helps the plants run more efficiently.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen such high demand; it’s actually the third time in two weeks that U.S. LNG feedgas demand crossed the 15 billion mark. But hitting 15.2 billion is a new record!

In December, both Venture Global and Cheniere made headlines by announcing their first LNG shipments from their expansion projects. Venture Global even sent its first shipment to Germany!

Looking further down the line, U.S. gas demand for LNG is expected to keep climbing, reaching 20.3 billion cubic feet per day by 2026 and even hitting 24.2 billion by 2028. This growth will follow the launch of the Golden Pass LNG project, a collaboration between QatarEnergy and Exxon Mobil, which is set to start producing gas in late 2025 or early 2026. Exciting times ahead for the energy sector!