US to become world’s biggest LNG exporter in 2022
The US is set to become the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter in 2022, overtaking Qatar and Australia, according to data presented to Reuters.
The country’s energy information administration forecasts that US LNG exports will reach 11.5bn cubic feet per day.
This would account for around 22 per cent of expected world LNG demand of 53.3bn cubic feet next year, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs.
This would outpace both Australia and Qatar, the two current largest exporters.
Global LNG demand has hit record highs each year since 2015, mostly driven by China and the rest of Asia.
The US has benefitted from healthy, growing supplies while China and other major economies in Asia and Europe have desperately pursued energy sources for heating and power generation.
This increased global appetite has been met by steadily rising US LNG exports, which have reached new records every year since 2016 and is poised to continue in 2022.
So far in 2021, most US LNG exports went to Asia – with approximately 13 per cent going to South Korea, 13 per cent to China and 10 per cent to Japan.
The US could remain the biggest LNG exporter by capacity until around 2025, when Qatar could regain the lead as its North Field expansion enters service.