As earnings season progresses, energy major Shell has outshone the competition with strong LNG performance driving a robust profit of US$6 billion.
The group’s LNG division reported increased LNG sales and heightened production in Asia, bolstered by a hot summer weather increasing use of air conditioning. LNG sales volumes from the group rose from 16.4MT in 2Q24, to 17.0MT in 3Q24.
“Adjusted Earnings were higher than in Q2 2024, due to higher LNG liquefaction volumes,” a spokesperson for the firm said, adding that revenues reflected “strong
operational performance in Integrated Gas, Upstream and Marketing”.
In contrast, TotalEnergies announced an 82% drop in refining and chemicals earnings, compounded by an unexpected outage at its Australian Ichthys plant. While both companies experienced declines in refining profits, Shell's LNG sales rose by 6.4%, whereas TotalEnergies saw a 9.5% drop in its LNG sales.
Meanwhile, Cheniere Energy, the largest LNG exporter in the US, reported a decline in third-quarter profits, with total revenues of US$3.763 billion, down from US$4.159 billion year-over-year. This included a drop in LNG revenues to US$3.554 billion. This decline was attributed to decreased market volatility and lower international LNG and natural gas prices.
As more of Cheniere's LNG is being sold under long-term contracts, the company has felt the impact of reduced volumes sold in the short term. The decline was exacerbated by falling Henry Hub pricing, which is linked to many of Cheniere's long-term LNG contracts.
Despite these challenges, Cheniere remains optimistic about the long-term demand for LNG, especially in Asia. Projections indicate that Chinese demand for natural gas is set to increase by over 50% by 2040, with LNG expected to account for 25%-30% of China's total natural gas demand. The firm also exported that it recently reached the milestone of loading its 1,000th LNG cargo for export from the CCL Project, which discharged in Italy.
