By Naveen Athrappully
Exports of natural gas from the United States are expected to jump 28 percent during 2026–2027 as new liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities start operations.
“In our forecast, net exports of U.S. natural gas (exports minus imports) grow 18 percent to 18.7 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2026. In 2027, net exports increase another 10 percent to 20.5 Bcf/d,” the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in an April 16 statement.
Five LNG export projects are scheduled to begin operations and ramp up production this year and next.
In 2026, Corpus Christi Stage 3 and Golden Pass LNG are expected to activate new liquefaction units. Additional new units are set to begin exports from Port Arthur LNG Phase 1, Rio Grande LNG, and Golden Pass LNG from next year.
ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy announced on March 30 that their Golden Pass LNG joint venture has begun liquefying natural gas at its plant on the Texas side of Sabine Pass. This is expected to provide a new source of supply to a tight global market impacted by the Iran war.
The development boosts America’s status as the world’s largest LNG exporter, a position it achieved by surpassing Qatar and Australia in 2022. Almost 70 percent of U.S. LNG is shipped to Europe.
Last year, U.S. developers signed sale-and-purchase agreements (SPAs) for 40 million tons per year of LNG, the highest volume since 2022, the EIA said in a March 3 statement.
“Favorable contract terms and increased demand for LNG in Europe and Asia contributed to the rise of SPA signings in 2025,” the agency said.
In addition, the Department of Energy “resumed LNG export permit reviews following a pause initiated in 2024, which had slowed developers’ ability to secure SPAs,” it said.
In its recent statement, the EIA said the agency was expecting LNG export terminals in the country to operate at “slightly higher utilization rates” this year due to recent export disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz, which has boosted demand from LNG cargoes transiting outside the strait.
The Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping waterway in the south of Iran, makes up over a fifth of global seaborne oil trade. The ongoing U.S.–Israel war against Iran has disrupted normal transit through the waterway, including LNG shipments.
“The disruptions, mostly concentrated in Qatar, currently represent over 10 Bcf/d, or 20 percent of global supply,” the EIA said. Qatar, the second-largest LNG exporter in the world, ships its entire LNG exports via the strait, except for shipments to Kuwait.
“Qatar also sustained damage to 17 percent of its export capacity after a March 18 attack on the Ras Laffan LNG export facility damaged two liquefaction trains.”
On March 19, state-owned enterprise QatarEnergy said that the damage to its production facilities will compel it to declare long-term force majeure, a contractual provision that allows parties to avoid fulfilling their obligations when circumstances are beyond their control.
“The damage sustained by the LNG facilities will take between three to five years to repair. The impact is on China, South Korea, Italy, and Belgium. This means that we will be compelled to declare force majeure for up to five years on some long-term LNG contracts,” said Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, CEO of QatarEnergy.
Around 90 percent of Qatar’s LNG is bought by customers in Asia.
In an April 16 post, ING Bank warned that the global LNG market is set to see supply disruptions persist even if vessels resume normal movements through the Strait of Hormuz. The bank said restarting disrupted Qatari LNG capacity will take some time.
“There is little in the way of supply alternatives for the market to offset the sizeable volumes we are seeing disrupted from the Persian Gulf. The ramp-up of new US LNG capacity is simply not enough,” ING said.
“Therefore, demand destruction will be key to balancing the gas market. This will likely be evident in the power sector, where we expect the industry to lean more on coal, particularly in Asia. But even in Europe, it makes more sense to burn coal rather than gas, even when taking into consideration carbon prices.”
