The International Gas Union (IGU) has published its World LNG Report for 2025, finding that LNG trade grew by 2.4% in 2024 to 411.24 million tonnes (MT), connecting 22 exporting markets with 48 importing markets.
According to IGU, the 9.82 MT increase in 2024 LNG trade was largely driven by rising output from the United States (+3.89 MT), Russia (+2.16 MT), Indonesia (+2.02 MT), Australia (+1.48 MT), and Trinidad and Tobago (+1.38 MT). On the import side, volumes shifted to China (+7.45 MT), India (+4.19 MT), Egypt (+2.65 MT), Brazil (+2.28 MT), and South Korea (+1.84 MT). Supporting the continued growth of the LNG industry, global liquefaction capacity rose to 494.4 MTPA at the end of 2024 from 488.0 MTPA a year earlier, while regasification capacity grew to 1064.7 MT from 998.1 MT over the same period.
Asia Pacific and Middle East lead LNG exports
Asia Pacific continued to dominate LNG exports with 138.91 MT in 2024, up from 134.80 MT in 2023. The Middle East remained the second-largest export region, despite a 0.44 MT year-on-year decrease to 94.25 MT. North America recorded the highest annual export growth (+4.11 MT), reaching 88.64 MT.
Top LNG exporting countries in 2024
The United States led global LNG exports in 2024 with 88.42 MT, up from 84.53 MT in 2023, followed by Australia with 81.04 MT (up from 79.56 MT). Qatar remained the third-largest exporter, though its volume slipped to 77.23 MT from 78.22 MT. Russian exports increased by 2.16 MT to 33.53 MT, followed by Malaysia at 27.73 MT.
Asia Pacific emerges as leading LNG import region
Asia Pacific was the largest import region in 2024, with volumes rising 9.77 MT to 165.09 MT. Lower prices early in the year enabled several price-sensitive markets to absorb more cargoes. Asia overtook Europe as the second-largest import region, with imports increasing by 12.48 MT to 117.97 MT—the largest regional gain. This growth was driven largely by high gas-for-power demand for cooling.
European LNG imports decline sharply
In contrast, European LNG imports fell by 21.22 MT to 100.07 MT in 2024, due to ample storage, weak natural gas demand, and strong pipeline flows from Norway and Russia. The UK saw a year-on-year decline of 6.48 MT, ending at 8.03 MT. France, Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium recorded drops of 3.75 MT, 3.49 MT, 2.98 MT, and 1.51 MT, respectively.
China and India drive LNG import growth
Meanwhile, LNG imports into China increased by 7.45 MT and into India by 4.19 MT, driven by heatwaves and heightened gas-for-power demand. Chinese imports totaled 78.64 MT, followed by Japan (67.72 MT) and South Korea (47.01 MT). These three markets accounted for 47.0% of global LNG imports in 2024.
US cements position as top LNG exporter
Despite delays in new projects, the US retained its position as the world’s largest LNG exporter with 88.42 MT, representing 21.5% of global output and an increase of 3.89 MT from 2023. The growth was primarily due to reduced maintenance at Sabine Pass in June 2024 and the late-year startup of the Plaquemines export facility. With its addition, total US liquefaction capacity rose to 97.5 MT in 2024, up from 93.0 MT in 2023.
Australia and Qatar maintain top three positions
Australia held its position as the second-largest exporter with 81.04 MT in 2024 (19.7% of global exports), up 1.48 MT from the previous year. Exports from Australia Pacific LNG recovered from disruptions in late 2023 due to a power outage at a loaded carrier, although the Ichthys and Gorgon facilities experienced outages in 2024.
Qatar’s exports stable, Russia and Malaysia show growth
Qatar’s exports slipped by 0.99 MT to a total of 77.23 MT in 2024, largely on par with the market’s nameplate capacity of 77.1 MT. Qatar’s 18.8% share of global LNG exports brings the joint LNG exports of the three largest exporters in 2024 to 60.0%, down 0.4 percentage points from 2023. Meanwhile, Russia had the second-largest export growth over 2023, seeing volumes grow 2.16 MT to 33.53 MT in 2024, 8.2% of global exports. Malaysian LNG exports climbed 0.97 MT to 27.73 MT in 2024 (6.7% of global exports), driven by improved feed gas supply from greenfield gas projects. Mexico and Congo joined the list of exporting markets in 2024 as FLNGs came online – Altamira LNG in Mexico and Congo Marine XII FLNG in Congo.
Export trends across LNG markets
Of all 22 export markets, six recorded a decline in exports in 2024, while 16, including newcomers Mexico and Congo, showed an increase. As in 2023, the largest decline came from Egypt (-2.79 MT), whose exports dropped by 3.41 MT in 2023 due to rising domestic demand and falling supply. Algeria had the second-largest decline in LNG exports in 2024, dropping 1.44 MT to 11.59 MT, due to maintenance. Apart from the US, Australia, and Russia, markets with larger export increases included Indonesia (+2.02 MT), Trinidad and Tobago (+1.38 MT), Malaysia (+0.97 MT), and Nigeria (+0.82 MT).
Regional shifts in LNG export volumes
The balance between export regions shifted somewhat in 2024. Asia Pacific defended its prime position with 138.91 MT, followed by the Middle East with 94.25 MT. Export growth was most significant in Asia Pacific and in North America, where Mexico joined the side of LNG exporters. The regions gained 4.10 MT and 4.11 MT over 2024, respectively, ending at 138.91 MT in Asia Pacific and 88.64 MT in North America. Exports fell by 2.31 MT to 37.98 MT in Africa, driven by declining output in Egypt and Algeria.
Re-export trade sees major decline
Re-export trade dropped by 37.7% to 4.96 MT in 2024, amounting to 1.2% of global LNG trade². At the same time, the number of markets performing re-export loading fell to 13 from 21 last year. Europe and Asia Pacific continue to be the regions with most re-exports loaded, indicating shares of 46.1% for Europe and 38.4% for Asia Pacific. Belgium (0.85 MT), Indonesia (0.85 MT), and Spain (0.78 MT) hold the top three positions for re-exporting LNG in 2024, followed by Singapore (0.54 MT), South Korea (0.52 MT), and China (0.46 MT). Unlike in 2023, India also re-loaded cargoes in 2024, through the Kochi terminal.
Re-export destinations and regional trends
Markets that received re-exports fell to 25 in 2024 from 32 in 2023, with China (0.88 MT), South Korea (0.77 MT) and Japan (0.59 MT) as the largest re-export takers. Egypt joined the list of markets receiving re-exports in 2024 following a further decline in production and rising need for imports. Asia Pacific (2.01 MT), Europe (1.25 MT) and Asia (1.06 MT) were the three regions receiving the most re-exports in 2024. The absorption of re-exports in Europe more than halved in 2024, in line with overall falling absorption of LNG cargoes in Europe for the year.
