The Netherlands is set to receive its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) delivery from Cheniere Energys Sabine Pass export plant in the US, according to shipping data. The Arctic Discoverer vessel, with a carrying capacity of 133,500 cubic metres of LNG, departed the facility on the Gulf Coast and is listed as heading for Rotterdam, data shows.
Cheniere is currently the only company able to export large cargoes of LNG from the US. According to US Department of Energy data, the biggest beneficiary of Sabine Pass volumes has so far been Mexico. Currently, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Malta are the only European countries to have received deliveries.
Analysts and some LNG traders expect European imports to improve due to increased LNG production capacity as markets in Asia and elsewhere struggle to absorb the growing pool of supply. In February, Britain received its first ever LNG delivery from Peru aboard the Gallina tanker.