US liquefied natural gas exports jumped 23% year on year to average 17.4 Bcf per day in the first half of 2026 as new terminals and expansions lifted export capacity, according to the US Energy Information Administration. The agency expects exports to average 17.3 Bcf per day in the second half of 2026 before climbing to 18.7 Bcf per day in the first half of 2027.
Plaquemines LNG was operating at full capacity, while the EIA’s period snapshot showed Corpus Christi Stage 3 exporting from six of its seven liquefaction trains. The two projects are set to increase nominal US LNG export capacity by a combined 4.0 Bcf per day when complete.
Golden Pass LNG began exports in April and is expected to ramp up Train 1 through the end of 2026, adding 0.7 Bcf per day of nominal export capacity. Train 2 is expected to be completed in late 2026.
High international LNG prices kept US export plants operating near maximum output during the first half. Europe’s benchmark Title Transfer Facility averaged $14.74 per MMBtu, up from $13.10 per MMBtu a year earlier. The Japan-Korea Marker averaged $15.56 per MMBtu, $2.38 per MMBtu higher year on year and its highest level in four years.
Disruption to LNG shipping through the Strait of Hormuz in March removed 20% of global LNG supplies, mostly from Qatar, tightening the spot market. US shipments to Asia consequently rose 2.3 Bcf per day, or 108%, from the first half of 2025.
Exports to Europe increased 0.1 Bcf per day, or 1%, while combined shipments to Latin America and the Caribbean and to the Middle East and North Africa rose 0.8 Bcf per day, or 46%. Egypt and the Netherlands were the largest individual destinations at 1.7 Bcf per day each, followed by Italy at 1.4 Bcf per day, France at 1.2 Bcf per day and the UK at 1.1 Bcf per day.