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US liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports averaged 17.4 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) in the first half (H1) of 2026, up 23% from H1 2025, according to new analysis published by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The EIA said this represents the fastest export growth rate since the US started large-scale exports in 2016.
The growth is projected to continue, with US LNG exports expected to average 17.3 bcf/d in H2 2026 and increase by approximately 8% to 18.7 bcf/d in H1 2027.
The EIA attributes the increase in domestic LNG exports during H1 2026 to additional volumes from startup production at new terminals and expansion at existing terminals.
Venture Global’s Plaquemines LNG facility in Louisiana is fully operational and producing around 28 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG.
Through a planned , Venture Global plans to add over 30 mtpa LNG production capacity and bring the Plaquemines total capacity to more than 58 mtpa.
Commercial operations are targeted for Q4 2026, with phase 2 expected to begin from mid-2027.
Venture Global posted a in Q2 as it capitalised on higher LNG sales volumes predominantly tied to the soon-to-launch Plaquemines LNG facility expansion.
Corpus Christi Stage 3 is currently exporting from six of seven liquefaction trains.
The EIA said these terminals, once complete, will increase nominal US export capacity by a combined 4 bcf/d.
QatarEnergy also its first LNG export cargo from the Golden Pass LNG project in Sabine Pass, Texas, in April.
It is expected to increase exports from Train 1 through the end of 2026, adding another 0.7 bcf/d of nominal export capacity, with Train 2 expected to come online in late 2026.
The upward trend in US LNG export capacity is expected to continue, with a recent study published by intelligence firm S&P Global Energy projecting that US LNG export capacity will over the next five years.
In the same time frame, $19bn of LNG-related investment is expected to be deployed, making LNG the country’s second-largest net export industry.
US LNG shipments
According to the EIA, market disruptions from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz contributed to a doubling of US shipments to Asia in H1 2026 compared with last year.
Export volumes to both Europe and Asia were higher, rising 0.1 bcf/d (1%) and 2.3 bcf/d (108%) from H1 2025, respectively.
Exports to Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and North Africa rose 0.8 bcf/d (46%) from H1 2025.
In a recent episode of Wood Mackenzie’s Energy Gang, Toby Rice, Chief Executive of EQT, the US natural gas producer, said, “LNG and our ability to export it is going to increase our US energy security because exports mean surplus, and surplus means energy security.”
The US administration talks about energy dominance, but for Rice, the focus is on .
