The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has released a new report on the LNG market, stating that US LNG exports rose by 26% to 15.1 Bcf/d (156 bcm/year) in 2025, representing the largest increase recorded by any exporting country (EIA analysis, 14/07/2026).
The US accounted for 26% of global LNG exports in 2025, up from 21% in 2024. Together, the United States, Qatar, and Australia, the world's three largest LNG exporters, represented 63% of total global exports, up from 60% in 2024. The EIA forecasts that US LNG exports will continue to grow, reaching 17.4 Bcf/d (nearly 180 bcm/year) in 2026 and 18.6 Bcf/d (192 bcm/year) in 2027, according to its Short-Term Energy Outlook.
With hostilities between the United States and Iran having resumed, the LNG market could continue to experience significant disruptions. Global LNG trade has slowed in 2026 following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has cut off 20% of global LNG supplies. The strait is the principal export route for Qatar, the world's second-largest LNG exporter. The country reported the second-largest increase in LNG exports, rising 3% to 10.6 Bcf/d (110 bcm/year) in 2025. Until LNG shipments through the strait return to normal levels, Asian buyers, who imported more than 80% of Qatari LNG in 2025, are competing in the global spot market with European buyers seeking to replenish gas storage facilities, which remain below the five-year average.
- This development was recently echoed by the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER), which warned that the European Union will need substantially higher LNG imports during the summer to restore depleted gas storage ahead of winter. The agency noted that EU gas storage sites were only 28% full at the start of the summer injection season on 1 April, the lowest level observed in four years (KEI, 11/07/2026).
In 2025, European countries increased LNG imports by 29% (3.8 Bcf/d, 39.2 bcm/year), the largest increase among all world regions. This rise was driven by the expiration of the Ukraine–Russia gas transit agreement at the end of 2024, which reduced pipeline gas deliveries to Europe and increased the need for LNG imports.
Meanwhile, Russian LNG exports declined by 8% (0.4 Bcf/d, 4.1 bcm/year) in 2025, marking the largest volumetric decrease among LNG exporters, as a result of EU sanctions imposed following the invasion of Ukraine.
Interested in LNG Databases?
World LNG Database offers a complete set of data on LNG markets. The service provides detailed information on existing and planned liquefaction and regasification plants. It also includes LNG shipping around the world, LNG contracts, time series on regasification and liquefaction capacities, LNG flows and LNG prices for all players in the market.