Written by SynMax | Jul 16, 2025 4:37:22 PM
- More US vessels will be incentivized to head to Europe, as low gas storage inventories (35% of total storage capacity as of March 20, 2025) and high LNG demand remain the norm as compared to Asia, where relatively subdued pricing is driven by moderate summer cooling needs and longer transit times via Cape of Good Hope.
- New supply from Corpus Christi Stage 3 and Plaquemines Phase 1 will add 20 mt this year. This reliable LNG flow into Europe may stabilize the prices throughout the spring and summer periods.
- SynMax Leviaton identified more than 29 US LNG vessels that changed their trajectories midway between August 2024 and February 2025, redirecting them to alternative destinations. In this period, 8 vessels redirected from Europe to Asia, but 18 redirected from Asia to go to Europe.
- SynMax Leviaton and SynMax Vulcan tracked and analyzed over 20 liquefaction facilities—9 in the US, 2 in Canada, 4 in Mexico and South America, 2 in the Middle East, and 3 in West Africa—using historical and latest satellite imagery. Additionally, we monitored 23 regasification facilities, including 20 in China and 3 in Europe. Our brief analysis provides insights into project progress and estimates for when these facilities will begin operations.
- This year we anticipate 5 projects to take FID (final investment decision) in the US: 1) Woodside Louisiana LNG (11 MTPA, Phase 1), 2) Lake Charles LNG (17.8 MTPA), 3) Texas LNG (4 MTPA), 4)Commonwealth LNG (9.3 MTPA), 5) CP2 LNG (10 MTPA, Phase 1).
- Apart from this, there are 4 projects that are correctly under construction, and are expected to come online in the next 3-4 years. 1) Corpus Christi Stage 3 (3.28 MTPA), 2) Rio Grande LNG ( 17.6 MTPA), 3) Port Arthur LNG (13.5 MTPA, phase 1), Golden Pass LNG (18 MTPA).
- China currently possesses the world's second-largest regasification capacity at 168 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) - and it’s projected expansion is estimated at approximately 60 MTPA over the next two years, making it the country with the largest regasification capacity by 2027, after Japan (217 MTPA).
- The use of the Cape of Good Hope for US LNG shipments to Asia surged fivefold in 2024 compared to 2023 according to SynMax Leviaton data, as traders increasingly looked to bypass both the Red Sea and the Panama Canal. The Cape of Good Hope emerged as the preferred route for US LNG exports to Asia at a time when US exports to Asia increased by 22% compared to last year, reaching ~29 mt in 2024.