BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 4. The US is forecast to account for over half of the global LNG supply increase in 2023, Trend reports citing the latest gas market outlook from the International Energy Agency (IEA).
"In contrast to the first quarter of 2022, the US experienced a moderate 4 percent (or 1 bcm) decline in LNG exports, explained by the delayed and only partial restart of the Freeport LNG facility following an eight-month outage caused by a fire," the report said.
However, the country is forecast to become the world’s largest LNG exporter in the current year.
"This growth will be supported primarily by the ramping up of the Calcasieu Pass LNG terminal and the restart of Freeport LNG, which returned to full service at the end of the first quarter of 2023," the report added.
Moreover, beside the US, LNG supply from Africa and South and Central America is projected to increase by close to 10 bcm amid improving feed gas availability and the ramping up of the Coral South and Congo floating LNG plants.
"By contrast, Russia’s LNG output is expected to decline. Sakhalin-II LNG’s project operator announced in February 2023 that the plant will move away from the "peak load" strategy it has been pursuing in the last few years, while production from YAMAL LNG is expected to decline by 5 percent year-on-year in 2023," the report added.
In general, in 2023, the volume of global LNG trade is set to increase by 4 percent.
"LNG supply growth will be primarily supported by the return of the Freeport LNG terminal in the US, improving feedgas availability in Trinidad & Tobago, and the ramp-up of production at Mozambique’s Coral South FLNG," the IEA added.
