LNG Canada Exports Top 1 MMt in Single Month as West Coast Volumes Ramp Up

LNG Canada surpasses 1 million metric tons of exports in a single month for the first time, marking a key milestone as the West Coast facility ramps up shipments to Asia and moves closer to full capacity.

(Reuters) — Exports of liquefied natural gas from Canada’s LNG Canada plant topped 1 million metric tons in April, setting a monthly record, according to LSEG data.

• LNG Canada is the country’s first major LNG export facility and the first on North America’s West Coast, giving it direct access to Asia, the world’s largest LNG market.
• All volumes produced by the plant went to Asia in April, with more than half sold to South Korea. One cargo was delivered directly to China.
• China has not been importing LNG from the U.S. since Washington imposed sanctions during the Trump administration, instead opting to resell U.S.-sourced LNG to other countries to capitalize on higher spot-market prices compared with lower long-term contract prices agreed upon with U.S. producers.
• On April 24, the tanker Qingcheng discharged its cargo at the Dongjiakou terminal after a roughly three-week voyage from Canada to China.
• LNG Canada said bringing any LNG facility into operations is a managed and sequenced process and its owners have so far shipped 79 LNG cargoes.
• LNG Canada is a joint venture between Shell, Malaysia’s Petronas, PetroChina, Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp and South Korea’s KOGAS.
• The plant has had a slow startup since beginning LNG production in June and is not yet operating at full capacity. It can export up to 14 million metric tons per year, equivalent to around 1.16 million tons per month.