LNG industry in the U.S. - statistics & facts

The United States is growing to become the largest liquefied natural gas supplier in the world. Since opening its first export terminal in 2016, the U.S. has added to its liquefaction capacities in every year. Although it had long been an LNG importer, the surge in domestic natural gas production following the development of unconventional extraction methods, allowed the U.S. to build out its export infrastructure. By the end of 2022, annual U.S. LNG exports are projected to amount to over 140 billion cubic feet per day.

The U.S. liquefaction landscape

Liquefaction is the process by which natural gas is cooled until it reaches its liquid state, reducing its volume and thereby making it easily trade- and storable. This affords new economic opportunities to producers such as the U.S. as they may trade with consumer markets unreachable by pipelines. The majority of U.S. export capacity is concentrated along the Texas and Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico. Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass was the country’s first export terminal to begin operation and remains the largest LNG terminal by capacity in the U.S. and also the world. Through its operation of Sabine Pass, Cheniere Energy has become a major player in the world's LNG market. As of 2022, it was the company with the second-largest LNG exporting capacity and responsible for nearly two quadrillion British thermal units worth of LNG sales in 2021.

Surging trade volumes and export prices

In the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war, LNG trade has become even more visible, profiting from diminishing pipeline shipments between Russia and the European continent. One of the immediate results was a notable uptick in monthly LNG imports from the U.S. to the EU. Although East Asian countries have so far been the largest U.S. export markets for LNG, U.S. traders have benefited from European leaders looking for alternatives to Russian natural gas. With monthly LNG export prices buoyed by the rise in commodity prices, the 2022 annual U.S. LNG export value could well exceed the previous year’s peak.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, Nov 10, 2023

Key insights

U.S. ranking in world LNG export
3rd
Largest destination market for U.S. LNG
South Korea
Forecast U.S. LNG exports 2023
151.59bn ft³/d
Get more insights

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) export value from the United States in 2021, by destination country (in million U.S. dollars)

Natural Gas

LNG export value from the U.S. 2021, by country

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) import value into the Unites States in 2021, by country (in 1,000 U.S. dollars)

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LNG import value into the U.S. 2021, by country

Monthly liquefied natural gas exports from the United States from May 2020 to April 2022 (in billion cubic feet)

Prices, Marketing, and Trade

Monthly LNG exports from the U.S. 2020-2022

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