U.S. Poised To Become Largest LNG Exporter In 2022 As China Becomes Top LNG Importer

The world’s two largest economies—the United States and Mainland China—are poised to be the world’s top export and import markets for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 2022, says a new report by IHS Markit, (NYSE: INFO), a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions, as per a Business Wire report.

Photo Insert: While China fueled the LNG demand surge, the US provided the supply push.

The report, entitled LNG Trade in 2021: Runaway Recovery finds that the United States, which was the third-largest LNG exporter behind Australia and Qatar for the full year of 2021, is poised to claim the top spot in 2022.

The United States was the largest source of LNG supply growth in 2021, adding 25 million metric tons (MMt) amid the continued buildup of liquefaction capacity as well as the ramping up of output from plants turned down the previous year. Average utilization for U.S. plants climbed from 43% in the third quarter of 2020 to 98% in the third quarter of 2021.

Meanwhile, Mainland China has already become the top global importer of LNG. Imports reached 81 MMt in 2021 (an increase of 12.3 MMt or 18%), overtaking Japan where imports were flat year-over-year at 75 MMt. This marks the first time since the early 1970s that Japan has not been the world’s largest LNG importer.

“A new map of LNG is taking shape as 2021 became the year of rapid recovery, making the oversupply and price lows of 2020 seem like a distant memory,” said Michael Stoppard, chief strategist, global gas, IHS Markit.

“It is a tale of two markets with China fueling the demand surge as the world’s top importer and the United States, poised to become the world’s leading exporter, providing the supply push.”

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