First Commercial LNG Cargo From US East Coast Hits the Seas

The first export of natural gas from the U.S. East Coast has set sail.

Dominion Energy Inc’s Cove Point terminal in Maryland shipped its first commercial cargo of liquefied natural gas on the 16^th April, officially bringing the total number of US exporters of the super-chilled fuel to two.

Last week, the company said the facility was finally poised to send gas under long-term contracts after more than three years of construction, joining Cheniere Energy Inc’s Sabine Pass terminal.

Cove Point’s start-up is accelerating America’s emergence as an LNG powerhouse which is expected to challenge Australia and Qatar for worldwide dominance in the next five years. Three more export terminals may open on the Gulf Coast by 2019.

While Cove Point’s East Coast location could give it an edge in competition for exports to Europe, the first ship may be headed to Asia.

The tanker Adam LNG left Cove Point early the 16^th April, bound for the Suez Canal, according to ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.

Dominion has agreements to sell gas to GAIL India Ltd and a joint venture of Sumitomo Corporation and Tokyo Gas Company, but LNG cargoes are sometimes resold in transit.

Source: Rigzone