US exports first LNG cargo to Italy

The US is exporting LNG to Italy for the first time on board the 156,000m³ Wilpride tanker.

The vessel loaded at the 25mn t/yr Sabine Pass LNG terminal in the US Gulf coast on 18 November, and is scheduled to arrive at Italy's 3mn t/yr LNG Toscana (OLT) offshore terminal on 4 December. Sabine Pass is owned and operated by Houston-based Cheniere Energy.

Cheniere sold state-controlled PetroChina a fob cargo that was loaded on the Wilpride tanker, market participants said.

It is likely that PetroChina is selling its cargo to German utility Uniper for regasification at OLT. Uniper recently won a tender to deliver a partial cargo to OLT on 1-31 December. The Sabine Pass facility may have loaded a partial cargo. It is also possible that Petrochina will deliver the rest of the cargo to another terminal. Sabine Pass's previous two deliveries to Europe have been to Portugal and Spain.