LNG

Record US natural gas production and sustained sub-$3.50/MMBtu Henry Hub prices are set to strengthen the economics of both LNG export expansions and new gas-fired power projects and, even as global demand tightens.

With five US LNG export projects set to start operations and ramp up production by the end of 2027, the country’s total gas export capacity is forecast to grow nearly 30%. According to EIA data, exports are bound to rise 1.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2026 to average 17.0 Bcf/d and increase by an additional 1.5 Bcf/d) in 2027.

Feedgas flows from the United States to Mexico are on pace for a record June as Energía Costa Azul LNG project prepares for export start-up. Sempra began producing LNG at the 3.25 mtpa terminal on June 4, with commercial exports due to begin in September.

Qatar expects to restore normal liquefied natural gas production “within a few weeks,” Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told the Financial Times, provided the US and Iran establish a “hotline” to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

Petroleum, not LNG, accounts for most of the United States’ energy trade, reaching a 31 quadrillion British thermal units (quads) in 2025, followed by gas exports with 9 quads, according to U.S. government data. Yet natural gas is the faster growing export, with sales quadrupling over the past decade.

QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi has identified shipping logistics as the biggest hindrance to resuming LNG exports from Ras Laffan once the Strait of Hormuz reopens, underlining tight tanker availability and routing constraints may impact the recovery of one of the world’s largest LNG export terminals.

Shipments from Canada’s LNG Canada plant surpassed 1 million metric tons in April, marking a new monthly record, according to LSEG data, as the $40‑billion facility is ramping toward its full design capacity. All cargoes set sail to Asia, mainly South Korea.

The first phase of the EU’s ban on Russian LNG has taken effect this weekend, removing an initial slice of the 20.3 bcm imported in 2025 at a time when European buyers are already competing for replacement cargoes for lost Qatari supply.

African LNG exports have increased 27% yoy to 11.32 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2026, as Qatari supply disruptions pushed European buyers to source more cargoes from Nigeria, Algeria and Angola.

Exports of US LNG to the Caribbean reached 0.3 bcf/d in 2025 and could rise further this year, notably to the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Panama where most of the islands’ regas capacity is concentrated. The three island nations imported approximately 0.4 Bcf/d of LNG from the United States, up nearly 32% year-on-year, according to data from the International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas Importers (GIIGNL).