US LNG played crucial role in assisting Europe to get through the 2022–23 winter
Will US LNG stampede lead to costly overbuild?
The US’ emergence as the world’s largest LNG producer is good news for gas-hungry Europe, but the project pipeline raises questions about how much capacity will be needed
The US was shaping up to become the world’s largest LNG producer last year, until an explosion in June put its second-largest liquefaction plant out of action. With the 15mn t/yr Freeport LNG having resumed production early this year—amid a welter of regulatory oversight and intervention—2023 now looks like the year in which the US will lift the trophy. It certainly has the capacity to do so. Since the first LNG cargo from the Lower 48 states left Houston-headquartered Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass project in 2016, another six projects have started up (see Fig.1). Together, they give the US an aggregate nameplate capacity of 91.3mn t/yr, significantly more than Qatar’s 77.4mn t/yr and just a
Also in this section
25 March 2025
Cote d’Ivoire’s ambitions to become a major regional producer have gained renewed momentum, with established players and new entrants striking upstream deals and committing to long-term investment
24 March 2025
Indian E&P company wants to take domestic production to a new horizon, given the amount of unexplored opportunities
21 March 2025
Two recent developments raise the prospect of a revival in northern Iraqi oil and gas fortunes, but familiar obstacles could thwart momentum
20 March 2025
As cash-strapped Western governments commit to substantially raising defence expenditure, a similar dynamic is playing out in Saudi Arabia’s oil and gas sector, as Saudi Aramco maintains it heavy capex push despite reduced revenues
