Government Energy Analysts Project US LNG Exports Could Double in Next 5 Years

Starting from scratch in 2016, the nation’s natural gas industry has led the globe in LNG production since 2022—a surge experts say will continue through 2031.

An LNG tanker is guided by tugboats at the Cheniere Sabine Pass LNG export unit in Cameron Parish, La., on April 14, 2022. Marcy de Luna/Reuters

U.S. producers exported a record-high 111 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 2025, cementing the nation’s status as the world’s largest natural gas supplier with rising demand—especially from Europe—prompting the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) to project that the nation’s LNG exports could double by 2031.

Only a decade ago, the U.S. was a net natural gas importer with only one large-scale liquefaction plant and export terminal at Sabine Pass, Louisiana.