The U.S. regained its crown as the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the first six months of this year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA).
US exports of the superchilled gas, particularly to Europe, have jumped in the last year as buyers looked for alternatives to Russian gas imports and to fill Europe's storage inventories, the EIA said.
An average 11.6 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) of the superchilled gas was exported through June, up 4% from the same period a year-earlier, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) said.
The increase in U.S. LNG exports was mainly driven by the return to service earlier this year of the second-largest U.S. exporter Freeport LNG after a June 2022 fire, according to the EIA.
Freeport LNG's production has been significantly down for the last four days with lower gas intake, according to data provider LSEG.
Australia exported the world’s second-largest volume averaging 10.6 Bcf/d, followed by Qatar at 10.4 Bcf/d the EIA said.
Similar to 2022, EU countries remained the main destination for U.S. LNG exports in the first half of the year, accounting for 67% (7.7 Bcf/d) of total U.S. exports
(Reuters - Reporting by Curtis Williams)