America Cornered 93% of Global LNG Export Growth Last Year, Data Show
US LNG exports reached 5.2 trillion cubic feet in 2025, capturing one-quarter of the global market as Hormuz disruption lifted the premium on Atlantic supply routes.
The United States supplied roughly 93% of the world's additional liquefied natural gas in 2025, according to data from the Energy Institute's 2026 Statistical Review of World Energy, reported by Forbes on July 19 (2026-07-19). Global LNG exports grew by approximately 1.2 trillion cubic feet last year; the US accounted for 1.10 trillion cubic feet of that increase, lifting its share of the global export market to 25.4%.6
A decade ago, the figure was effectively zero. In 2015, US LNG exports were less than 0.03 trillion cubic feet. By 2025, they had reached 5.2 trillion cubic feet — up 27% from 4.1 trillion cubic feet in 2024 — making the US the world's largest LNG exporter by a substantial margin, the Energy Institute data show. Total global exports grew from 19.3 trillion cubic feet to 20.4 trillion cubic feet over the same period, meaning American volume growth alone exceeded the entire net gain in world supply.6
The spread between JKM Asian LNG at $21.82/MMBtu and NYMEX Henry Hub front-month gas at $2.93/MMBtu illustrates why expansion has continued at this pace. Even accounting for liquefaction tolls and freight, Atlantic cargoes compete aggressively in both European and Asian end-markets. Higher US throughput has compressed the historic JKM premium over Henry Hub, but not closed it.6
Geography has helped. The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed for more than 90 days as of early June (2026-06-04), according to the Atlantic Council, pushing Middle Eastern flows onto longer alternative routes and raising the value of supply that bypasses the chokepoint entirely. US Gulf export terminals have benefited from this reordering, with European and Asian buyers accelerating long-term off-take negotiations for Atlantic supply.3
The broader US energy position has shifted correspondingly. Total US energy exports reached a record 31 quadrillion British thermal units in 2025, up 2% from the prior record set in 2024, EIA data show. Imports fell to 21 quads, down 5% from 2024, leaving net exports at 11 quads. A country that was a large net energy importer before the shale era is now a substantial net exporter across oil, gas and LNG simultaneously.2
The picture carries a complication. North America drove nearly half of all global emissions growth in 2025, with US coal-fired generation rising 13% last year, according to reporting from oilprice.com on July 6 (2026-07-06). US electricity demand grew 3% over the same period. The coal rebound occurred alongside the LNG export surge — both driven by cheap domestic gas and rising power demand — suggesting the transition story embedded in LNG export growth is partial at best.5
The political case for restricting exports has not gained traction in Washington. In March (2026-03), US Energy Secretary Chris Wright explicitly ruled out any White House move to restrict crude oil or petroleum product exports; Interior Secretary Doug Burgum described an export ban as "bad on all accounts," per the Atlantic Council. ICE Brent crude front-month trades at $100.75 per barrel as of Friday (2026-07-24), levels that periodically revive domestic refinery arguments against free exports, but no legislative mechanism is currently moving.3
Russia's retreat from European gas markets has reinforced the structural position of US volumes. Before its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia directed roughly 25% of its natural gas exports toward Europe; EIA data show that by 2024, Asian and Oceanic markets absorbed 30% of Russian gas exports, with India alone accounting for 34% of Russian crude exports. European buyers have treated US LNG as a structural replacement rather than a cyclical swing source, supporting long-term contracting that underpins future US terminal expansions.1
The risk to current pricing sits in the Gulf. Analysts cited by the Atlantic Council and E&E News expect both US producers and Chinese EV exporters to emerge from the Iran conflict in stronger positions, with more American oil flowing and global buyers reconfigured around supply security. If the Hormuz strait reopens and Middle Eastern volumes return to market, JKM spot prices would face renewed pressure from the east, narrowing the spread that currently makes US cargoes so commercially attractive. At $21.82/MMBtu, JKM leaves enough margin for the trade to absorb some compression — but a ceasefire timeline is the variable that traders in Atlantic LNG have no reliable way to price.4,3