US Natural Gas Exports -- July 10, 2022

When tracking "natural gas" exports be sure to make distinction between total natural gas exports (which include LNG and pipeline to Mexico and Canada) and LNG which generally (?) does not include Mexico or Canada. 

From the blog, February 27, 2017, five years ago, EIA forecast:

Staggering:

Now:

• EIA, US natural gas exports, in trillion cubic per year:
• 2016: actual from chart above, 2.0; from EIA site, 2.3
• 2017: forecast from chart above, 2.1; from EIA site, actual: 3.2
• 2018: forecast from chart above, 3.0; from EIA site, actual: 3.6
• 2019: forecast from chart above, 4.0; from EIA site, actual: 4.7
• 2020: forecast from chart above, 5.7; from EIA site, actual: 5.3 (Covid-19 global lock downs)
• 2021: forecast from chart above, 5.85; from EIA site, actual 6.7 (coming out of global lock down)

Currently:

• it is easy to find data for LNG exports, but I am unable to find data for natural gas exports for current year, 2022. My hunch: trending toward, perhaps exceeding, 7.0.
• Later: see first note. Data is posted here. January - April, 2022, data posted; exactly 120 days. Doing the math, annualizes out 7.2.
• however, Freeport outage: could strand 2.0 billion cfpd (x 180 = 0.36 trillion for the year)

In 2016: EIA could not have foreseen --

• Covid-19 global lock downs, 2020 - 2021
• Russia shuts down natural gas deliveries to Europe; Putin's War, beginning, February, 2022
• French nuclear power in disarray; as many as 50% of French reactors off line; France bails out EDF;
• EU labels natural gas as a "green" energy