Atlantic LNG: Spot TFDE rates tumble

Spot charter rates for tri-fuel diesel-electric (TFDE) LNG carriers in the Atlantic basin fell on Thursday, as firms were seeking to sublet tonnage originally tied to the Cameron LNG facility, which could be offline for at least a month.

The prompt assessment for a TFDE vessel located west of Suez fell to $55,000/d on Thursday from $61,000/day at the previous close, while rates for vessels east of Suez also moved down to $52,000/d from $57,000/d a day earlier.

Supply disruptions at the 15mn t/yr Cameron LNG facility in Louisiana had left firms with tonnage linked to the project able to sublet vessels onto the spot market, adding to the Atlantic basin availability. There were around 3-4 vessels tied to Cameron which some firms were offering as sublets on Thursday, compared with around 5-8 vessels which were heard available by the end of last week, market participants said. Subletting activity could also continue further along the curve, given the two-month round trip between the US Gulf coast and northeast Asia.

Cameron had been offline since the end of August, when the facility halted production due to Hurricane Laura, which made landfall near Cameron on 26-27 August. The facility was expected to be offline for at least a month and some expect that the terminal could be offline for up to 60 days, with 45 days needed for transmission line repairs and 15 days for the terminal to ramp up production, market participants said.

Cheniere's Sabine Pass export terminal also halted ahead of the hurricane, but returned to normal operations on Wednesday, with 3-4 vessels moored near the facility on Thursday indicating that loadings could resume in the coming days. Feedgas flows to Sabine Pass were nominated at 3bn ft³ on Thursday, up from 2.8bn ft³ on Wednesday and the highest since early May.

But Cheniere likely utilised its 10mn t/yr Corpus Christi facility while Sabine Pass was offline to meet some contractual requirements, with feedgas nominations at Corpus Christi ramping up to 1.39bn ft³/d on 27 August-5 September, when Sabine Pass flows were minimal, from 570mn ft³/d on 1-26 August.

Flows to Corpus Christi had also remained high in recent days and were nominated at 1.5bn ft³ on Thursday, up from 1.49bn ft³ a day earlier, suggesting that Cheniere may be still be seeking to make up for lost volumes from Sabine Pass in recent days. That said, there were also fewer cargo cancellations by US offtakers heard for September than in recent months and aggregate feedgas nominations for the US' six liquefaction terminals were 6.48bn ft³ on Thursday, the highest since 11 May.