Egypt leads US LNG cargo destinations in May as European share drops

Egypt was the top destination for US LNG cargoes delivered in May, while US shipments to Asia continued to rise during the month to help offset supply disruptions caused by the war in the Middle East, an analysis of S&P Global Energy CERA data showed June 1.

The share of monthly US cargoes landed in Europe also declined in May to the lowest point since late 2024, as forward pricing for the winter months continued to discourage buyers in the region from competing with Asia for available volumes.

Egypt received 16 US cargoes in May, followed by the Netherlands and Italy, each with 15; by India with 14; and by France, Germany and Japan, with 10 each.

Europe, including Turkey, received 75 US cargoes in May, accounting for about 49% of US deliveries during the month. That represented a decline in Europe's share of American shipments for the third consecutive month and the lowest monthly share of US volumes for the region since October 2024.

At the same time, storage inventories in Europe remain below historical norms. EU-wide gas storage levels were about 40% full as of May 31, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe. Inventories were about 48% full at the same time in 2025, and 70% full at the same point in 2024.

The surge in deliveries of US cargoes to Egypt in May was driven by rising power demand with the arrival of summer and ongoing weakness in the country's domestic gas production. The shipments followed months of increased buying by Egypt, traditionally an LNG exporter that became a net importer in 2024.

May falls during what is typically the weakest period for global gas demand, and overall US cargo loadings fell during the month amid planned maintenance at multiple US facilities along the US Gulf Coast.

The total US LNG volumes loaded in May declined to about 10.5 million metric tons, from about 11.3 million mt in April, reaching the lowest level since February. About 39% of the cargoes exported indicated destinations in Asia, compared with about 48% headed for Europe and Turkey.

Maintenance at the Cameron LNG export terminal in Louisiana and the Freeport LNG plant in Texas was ongoing as June began.

Feedgas deliveries suggested the country's newest export terminal, the Golden Pass LNG project in Texas, began restarting operations in late May after a planned outage. The terminal exported its second cargo May 9 and had yet to resume shipments as of June 1.

Global LNG spot prices remain elevated and volatile as the conflict enters its fourth month.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed the DES Northwest Europe marker for July at $16.712/million British thermal units on June 1, up about 8% from the prior assessment and still about 69% higher than prewar levels.

Platts assessed the July JKM, the benchmark price reflecting LNG delivered to Northeast Asia, at $18.338/MMBtu May 29, a slight decline from the previous assessment but still about 71% higher than before the conflict.