據油價網7月20日報道，周一，天然氣價格下跌了近5％，由于美國液化天然氣出口量下降有可能加劇庫存，而庫存已經大大高于五年平均水平。

截至美國東部時間下午4:27，天然氣價格僅為1.636美元，下跌0.082美元，跌幅4.77%。

據EIA報道，在截至7月15日的當周，美國LNG出口下降，該周僅有4艘總承載能力為150億立方英尺的船只離開美國。據FX Empire數據顯示，這是自2016年底以來的最低出口量，當時薩賓帕斯（Sabine Pass ）LNG是美國唯一的LNG出口設施。

根據EIA的數據，去年這個時候，美國液化天然氣出口設施的天然氣輸送量創下了紀錄。今年，新冠疫情限制了清潔燃料的使用，截至7月10日的庫存為31.78億立方英尺，遠高于五年平均水平。相比之下，去年同期的水平為25.15億立方英尺，五年平均水平為27.42億立方英尺。

但低油價并沒有減少雪佛龍對總部位于休斯頓的能源生產商來寶能源(Noble energy)的興趣。來寶能源在以色列的大型天然氣項目Leviathan中擁有天然氣業務。

雪佛龍（Chevron）首席執行官認為短期石油市場“陰云密布”。

雪佛龍首席執行官Mike Wirth在接受路透采訪時表示，目前形勢不容樂觀。在大流行的發展軌跡上有太多的不確定性，有效疫苗的發展速度和政府試圖控制風險的政策干預。這是一個流動的環境。我們預計經濟和物價走勢將不穩。

雪佛龍確實看到了對天然氣的長期需求增長，但是這在很大程度上是由于人口增長和減少溫室氣體排放的推動。

郝芬 譯自 油價網

原文如下：

Nat Gas Prices Crash As U.S. Exports Fall

The price of natural gas fell nearly 5% on Monday, as lower U.S. LNG exports threaten to exacerbate inventories, which are already significantly higher than the five-year average.

The price of natural gas was just $1.636 as of 4:27pm EDT, a drop pf $0.082 or 4.77%.

The EIA reported that U.S. LNG exports fell week over week for the week ending July 15, with just four vessels with a combined carrying capacity of 15 Bcf leaving the United States that week. This is the lowest volume since the end of 2016—a time when the Sabine Pass LNG was the only LNG export facility in the United States, according to FX Empire.

Last year at this time, natural gas deliveries to U.S. LNG export facilities were setting records, according to the EIA. This year, the pandemic is cramping the style for the cleaner fuel, and inventories are well above the five-year average, at 3.178 billion cubic feet as of July 10. That compares to the year ago levels of 2.515 Bcf, and the five-year average of 2.742 Bcf.

But the low prices did little to assuage Chevron’s appetite for Houston-based energy producer Noble Energy, who is embedded with natural gas in a major Israeli gas project, Leviathan.

Chevron’s CEO sees the near-term oil market as “cloudy”.

“The crystal ball is cloudy right now. There’s so much uncertainty on the trajectory of the pandemic, the rate of development of effective vaccines and government policy interventions to try to manage risk between here and there. It’s a fluid environment. We expect choppy economic and price activity,” Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said in an interview with Reuters.

Chevron does see long-term demand growth for natural gas, however, largely from population growth and the push to lower greenhouse gas emissions.