Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico September passengers down 7.3% to 4.08M amid capacity cuts

In September, European ports handled the vast majority of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments, accounting for 53% of all deliveries, according to an analysis of S&P Global Energy CERA data released on Oct. 5. A total of 76 out of the 143 US LNG cargoes landed in Europe, with the Netherlands receiving the highest share at 15 cargoes, followed by Egypt, Italy, Spain, and France with 14 cargoes each, and France with 12.

This trend marked a continued shift toward Europe, as U.S. liquefaction utilization increased in late August, making additional supplies available for the region's winter inventory replenishment. However, Europe's LNG imports had lagged throughout the year due to the Middle East war starting in late February, which drove up spot prices and heightened competition with Asian buyers facing more acute supply disruptions.

At the end of September, EU-wide gas storage stood at 72% of capacity, down from nearly 83% in the same period last year and about 94% in 2024. US LNG deliveries to Europe plus Turkey remained steady at about 5.4 million metric tons (mt) in September, despite a substantial decline in total US deliveries. Meanwhile, Asia-Pacific markets received 41 US LNG cargoes, or 29% of the total, down from 36% in August.

The strong pull of Europe on US supplies was expected to continue into October, despite a maintenance outage at the Cove Point LNG terminal in Maryland, which was scheduled to be completed in the second half of the month. Additionally, a supply disruption at the Freeport LNG plant in Texas, which took one of three trains offline for maintenance on Oct.

2, was also being monitored. Feedgas deliveries were projected to rebound to around 2.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) by Oct. 5, up from about 1.6 Bcf/d on Oct. 4. Overall, global LNG spot prices remained elevated and volatile, with the DES Northwest Europe marker assessed at $23.56 per million British thermal units (mmbtu) for November, a 73-cent decrease from the previous assessment, and the JKM benchmark price for Northeast Asia at $25.569 per mmbtu, up 80 cents from the prior assessment.