The United States to become World’s Largest LNG Exporter

In 2022, the United States is expected to surpass Qatar and Australia as the world’s largest LNG exporter, and it may keep that position for years to come. In a year when China and other huge countries in Europe and Asia were scrambling to find enough supply for heating and power generation, thehad plenty – and it will continue to rise in the coming years. Since 2015, global LNG demand has risen to new highs every year, owing primarily to rising demand in China and the rest of Asia.

Much of that worldwide need has been fulfilled by gradually expanding LNG exports from the United States, which have set new records every year since 2016 and are expected to do so again in 2022. US LNG exports are expected to reach 11.5 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2022, according to the US Energy Information Administration. According to Goldman Sachs analysts, this would account for around 22% of estimated global LNG demand of 53.3 bcfd next year, outpacing both Australia and Qatar, the two largest producers at the moment.

For a day, one billion cubic feet of gas is enough to power nearly 5 million American households. The United States is expected to remain the largest LNG exporter by capacity until around 2025, when Qatar’s North Field project is expected to begin operations. However, if some United States developers start building new LNG export plants, the US may not relinquish its position as the world’s largest LNG exporter.

In recent months, major United States developers such as Cheniere Energy, the country’s top exporter, have signed a slew of long-term LNG sales agreements that should help them obtain the funding they need to move through with further multibillion-dollar projects.