*

U.S. steps up LNG exports to Europe

*

Almost 9 in every 10 LNG cargoes sold to continent in

January

*

Exports fall short of new record on Freeport LNG's outages

By Curtis Williams

HOUSTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) -

U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe jumped

in January as cold weather drove up demand and prices for the

superchilled gas rose, preliminary data from financial firm LSEG

showed.

Nearly nine of every ten cargoes leaving the U.S. headed

to Europe, while total exports to all countries for the month

reached 8.46 million metric tonnes (MT). That is just shy of the

monthly record of 8.6 MT hit in December 2023 and almost the

same as the 8.5 MT sold in December 2024, according to LSEG

data.

Of the 8.46 MT sold in January, 7.25 MT, or 86%, went to

Europe, versus 5.84 MT, or 69%, sold to the continent in

December, LSEG data showed.

The U.S. is the world's largest LNG exporter and a key

supplier to Europe following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The

U.S. does not have destination clauses on its LNG export

contracts, allowing buyers the flexibility to easily move

cargoes from one country to another based on demand.

In January at least six cargoes destined to Asia were

diverted to Europe amid higher prices and weaker Asian demand,

according to LSEG ship-tracking data.

The front-month European benchmark gas contract at the Dutch

Title Transfer Facility (TTF) was trading above $15 per mmBtu

last Friday and averaged $14.67 per mmBtu in January, up from

$13.82 per mmBtu in December, LSEG data showed.

The Asian benchmark on the Japanese Korean marker(JKM)

averaged $14.166/mmBtu in January compared to $14.096 per mmBtu

in December, according to LSEG data.

LNG EXPORTS FALL SHORT OF RECORD

U.S. LNG exports were expected to reach a new record in

January with the addition of Venture Global's ( VG ) Plaquemines

LNG plant in Louisiana. In January, six cargoes, or 0.43 MT,

were exported to Europe from Plaquemines, but the additional

production was offset by lower output at Freeport LNG in Texas,

which went offline or did not operate at full capacity several

times during January, LSEG data showed.

Freeport is the U.S. third largest LNG exporter but has had

problems operating at full capacity for extended periods,

according to LSEG data.

Venture Global ( VG ) became publicly traded in a blockbuster IPO

in January that it the most valuable LNG company in America. It

has quickly ramped up production from its 20 MTPA Plaquemines

plant, part of which is still under construction, at times

pulling as much as 1.3 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas, LSEG

data showed.

With most U.S. exports heading to Europe last month, sales

of LNG to Asia fell to 0.79 MT down from 2.1 MT in December,

while exports to Latin America were down to 0.21 MT in January

compared to 0.58 MT in December, LSEG data showed.

Three cargoes totaling 0.21 MTPA went to Egypt from the U.S.

in January, according to LSEG data.