LITTLETON, Colorado, Dec 17 Reuters U.S. liquefied natural gas exports are on track to climb to new highs in 2024, as record domestic natural gas production spurred the 10th straight year of volume growth in the lucrative LNG export sector.

U.S. LNG shipments for 2024 look set to hit 86.9 million metric tons, according to shiptracking data from Kpler.

That total is around 720,000 tons or 0.8 more than in 2023, and so sustains the expansion trend of U.S. LNG exports despite brief outages at a number of export terminals in 2024 and delays at new projects that are under construction.

BUMPY RIDE

Despite the volume growth, it hasn39;t been an easy year for the U.S. LNG export sector, which became the world39;s largest last year.

Record gas output at home combined with slowing gas demand in key markets resulted in a roughly 21 fall in average U.S. LNG export prices so far this year compared to 2023, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration EIA.

From January through September, LNG export prices averaged 6.15 per thousand cubic feet, according to EIA.

That compares to a 7.75 average over the same period in 2023 and a 12.20 average in 2022, which was when Russia39;s invasion of Ukraine triggered power sector turmoil and a sharp rise in LNG imports across Europe.

This year39;s fall in U.S. LNG export prices was greater than the roughly 15 decline over the same period in Henry Hub natural gas futures the U.S. benchmark gas price and so helped squeeze LNG…