Berkshire Hathaway Energy-controlled Cove Point LNG is expected to resume operations soon after finishing maintenance activities, according to Rystad Energy.

U.S. natural gas futures edged up about 1% on Oct. 10 on forecasts for higher demand this week with an expected increase in the amount of gas flowing to the LNG plant, Reuters reported.

After declining for four days in a row, front-month gas futures for November delivery on Nymex rose $0.015, or 0.6%, to settle at $2.675/MMBtu. On Oct. 9, the contract closed at its lowest since Sept. 26.

The 0.8-Bcf/d Cove Point facility in Lusby, Maryland, remains offline for planned annual maintenance, which was expected to last from Sept. 20 to Oct. 10, Masanori Odaka, Rystad gas and LNG senior analyst, said in an Oct. 10 research report.

Cove Point is a bidirectional LNG facility on the U.S. western shore of the Chesapeake Bay.

The facility is served by an associated pipeline system in Virginia and Maryland and has 14.6 Bcf of onsite storage, according to details posted by Virginia-based Berkshire Hathaway Energy, which holds a 75% operating stake in Cove Point LNG.

LNG feed gas rises  

Rystad said feed gas levels for U.S. LNG projects rose to about 12.8 Bcf/d, up 5.5% week-on-week. Rystad expects the U.S. will produce an average of 103 Bcf/d of dry gas in Oct. 2024.

The overall gas demand picture in the U.S. remains bloated. Rystad expects above-average temperatures in the Mountain and Pacific regions to continue until Oct. 24. However, Rystad said U.S. storage levels reached 3,548 Bcf, up 3% compared to the same period in 2023.

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