US LNG Locks In 29% of Spain's Gas Imports in First Half of 2026
American cargoes covered 29% of Spanish gas imports in H1 2026, sustaining a near-doubling of US market share from 2024 as Atlantic LNG flows take hold in Iberian supply.
American LNG covered 29% of Spain's total gas imports in the first half of 2026, sustaining the near-30% share the US captured across all of 2025 and roughly double what American cargoes supplied in 2024. Only Algeria holds a larger position, with its pipeline exports accounting for around 40% of Spanish supply.
The pace of that shift reflected what was happening across the global LNG market. The United States supplied approximately 1.10 trillion cubic feet of the roughly 1.2 trillion cubic feet of growth in global LNG exports in 2025, according to oilprice.com on July 24, 2026 (2026-07-24) — roughly 93% of all new LNG reaching markets that year. US LNG exports grew 27% year-on-year in 2025, from 4.1 trillion cubic feet to 5.2 trillion cubic feet, per the Energy Institute's 2026 Statistical Review of World Energy, giving the US a 25.4% share of global LNG trade.8,7
Spain was positioned to absorb that growth. The country operates Europe's largest LNG regasification network. Its terminals sit at the natural entry point for Atlantic-basin cargoes, and as US export capacity expanded through 2024 and 2025, new volumes followed an established commercial route.
For the EU broadly, LNG accounted for 131 billion cubic metres, or 45% of all member-state gas imports in 2025, an official report noted on Monday, July 6, 2026 (2026-07-06). The US was the largest source, covering almost 58% of EU LNG imports, according to Bruegel data cited in EU Council analysis from May 2026 (2026-05-19).4,2
Russian gas, which supplied 45% of EU imports as recently as 2021, has been largely displaced. Russia's pipeline gas share dropped from around 40% of EU imports in 2021 to approximately 6% in 2025, with pipeline gas and LNG combined covering only around 12% of the EU total last year, per EU Council data. That decline opened space that US LNG, among other suppliers, filled.2,1
Algeria's position in Spain, roughly 40% of imports through fixed pipeline links, now rests on a production base that has drawn increasing skepticism. The country is Africa's largest gas producer, with natural gas accounting for roughly 49% of its hydrocarbon output, but its export capacity faces a tightening constraint, oilprice.com reported on June 10, 2026 (2026-06-10). Mature fields and rising domestic energy consumption have raised doubts about Algeria's ability to hold current export volumes, let alone grow them.3
Russia, meanwhile, has not retreated from LNG markets. IEA's Gas Market Report showed Russia increased LNG exports by around 8%, or 2 billion cubic metres, in the first half of 2026, TASS reported on July 7, 2026 (2026-07-07). Those volumes flow primarily to Asia, but they add to the global supply pool competing for buyers and contribute to downward pressure on spot prices, including ICE Endex TTF front-month, which was steady on Thursday (2026-07-31) at €58.16 per megawatt-hour.5
NYMEX Henry Hub front-month was $2.65 per million British thermal units on Wednesday (2026-07-29), cheap enough to keep the Atlantic LNG arbitrage open for European buyers. US exporters operating under long-term contracts largely pre-sell cargoes regardless of spot spreads, but the differential between US domestic gas and European import prices supports continued portfolio optimization toward Europe over Asia for flexible volumes.6,8
Algeria's production trajectory is the variable that most directly shapes Spain's supply risk. US import volumes appear commercially embedded in Iberian flows. The pipeline constraint on the Algerian side, with mature fields, fixed routes, and no easy alternative if output falters, means any sustained decline in Algerian deliveries would push Spain further into spot LNG markets. American cargoes would fill most of that gap. Whether Algerian field output holds through 2026 and into 2027 is the number in Spain's gas balance worth watching.3