American Terminal Survey (NATS) regasification data. However, the daily rate for capacity utilization varies widely around that number.
Overall LNG imports in countries of the Atlantic Basin (except Italy and Portugal, which are not covered) were up 15% over 2006. The US imported 17.1% of the Atlantic Basin volume (OGJ Online, Feb. 11, 2008). Spain remains the largest LNG importer in the Atlantic Basin with 44.5% of all the imports.
Trinidad and Tobago, with 58.5% of market share, remain the largest single country of origin for US LNG imports. Egypt and Nigeria were close seconds. However Trinidad and Tobago was the most costly source of supply. The least costly LNG came from Equatorial Guinea, a new entrant into the LNG supply picture in 2007.
A major component of the LNG business in 2007 was the more aggressive use of gas storage, and NATS calculates that storage played a major role in the surge of imports at Lake Charles during March-September.
The outlook for 2008 LNG imports is not thought to be as robust as it was in 2007, according to Pan EurAsian. The price profiles are not as supportive now as last year at this time, it said. Japan's need for LNG supplies to displace nuclear electricity generation capacity this year may keep LNG global prices far enough above US market prices to reduce the summer and storage replenishment surge that will occur.
