The Middle East conflict has made forecasting LNG market trends more difficult as infrastructure was hit and price volatility has exposed buyers to new challenges, according to the International Gas Union (IGU), an organization representing 90% of the global gas producers and importers.
“The conflict in the Gulf has damaged LNG infrastructure, clouded the outlook for the region’s expansion projects, and exposed Asian buyers to flow uncertainty and higher prices,” Andrea Stegher, president of the IGU, said in remarks to the union’s annual LNG report carried by Reuters.
In the World LNG Report 2026 published on Tuesday, IGU said that global LNG trade hit a record high of 437 million tons in 2025, up by 6.3%, the strongest annual growth since 2022. The increase in LNG trade was mostly due to higher LNG supply from the United States and Qatar, and first-time LNG supply coming from Canada and the Mauritania/Senegal joint LNG export project, the union said.
The U.S. remained the top LNG exporter in 2025, while Europe saw the biggest increase in LNG imports, the report found.
Last year, 68.4 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of liquefaction capacity reached final investment decision, making 2025 the strongest year for project approvals since 2019 and capping a five-year investment cycle that approved 206 Mtpa of total new capacity, the union said.
This year, the LNG industry showed resilience and flexibility during the Middle East crisis that couldn’t be seen in previous supply crises, according to the IGU.
“The Report concludes that while the LNG industry is not immune from the challenges of operating in an era of heightened geopolitical uncertainty, its unique ability to re-distribute large quantities of clean-burning energy from a broadening supply base only enhance LNG’s role as a “shock absorber” to the global economy,” the union said.
Surging gas demand in South and Southeast Asia will push global LNG demand up by 65% by 2050 from 2025 levels, although growth this year has been stalled by the Strait of Hormuz crisis, Shell, the world’s biggest LNG trader, said in its annual LNG Outlook 2026 last week.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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