The European Union (EU) and the United States (US) report that their joint strategic cooperation in the LNG sector has resulted in a surge of the EU's fuel imports (+180% since July 2018) to reach 7.9 bcm between July 2018 and early March 2019. The US are currently the EU's third largest supplier of LNG with a 12% market share, up from 2% before July 2018. Moreover, the EU accounted for more than 10% of the total US LNG exports, up from 5% in 2016.
The EU is taking an active part in the development of the LNG industry and has co-financed or committed to co-finance LNG infrastructure projects worth over €650m and is supporting the development of 8 regasification projects that will bolster the EU's spare capacity by another 22 bcm by 2030 from the current 150 bcm. The EU is developing its regasification infrastructure to improve its security of supply by diversifying its energy supply portfolio and benefit from prices competitive.