The International Gas Union’s 2026 report presents the liquefied natural gas market as a sector that reached record volumes and strong investment activity in 2025, while again coming under pressure from geopolitical risks in 2026. Its central conclusion is that LNG is gradually evolving from a relatively specialised internationally traded energy product into a key component of global energy security, because it enables supplies to be redirected flexibly between regions. At the same time, the sector remains highly sensitive to disruptions of maritime routes, infrastructure outages, price volatility and the concentration of a substantial share of global production in a limited number of countries.

In 2025, global LNG trade reached 436.98 million tonnes, an increase of 25.74 million tonnes, or 6.3%, compared with 2024. This was the strongest annual growth since 2022. LNG was supplied by 24 exporting markets to 50 importing markets, demonstrating both the expansion of the production base and the increasing number of countries using LNG as an instrument for diversifying gas supply. Canada and the joint Mauritania–Senegal project entered the group of actual LNG exporters for the first time, with exports of 2.14 million tonnes and 1.22 million tonnes respectively.

The most significant change on the supply side was the rapid strengthening of the United States’ position. US LNG exports increased by 22.3 million tonnes and reached 110.74 million tonnes, representing approximately one quarter of global LNG trade. Qatar ranked second with 81.51 million tonnes, while Australia remained third with 80.32 million tonnes. Together, these three countries accounted for around 62% of global LNG supplies, highlighting both the scale of their production systems and the continued concentration of the market. Russia recorded a decline in exports of around 3 million tonnes, while Malaysia, Nigeria, Angola and Oman increased their deliveries.

In 2025, the European market once again became the principal centre of incremental LNG demand. European imports increased by 26.1 million tonnes to 126.2 million tonnes, following a weaker year in 2024. The main drivers were the end of Russian natural gas transit through Ukraine, lower gas-storage levels after the winter season and the need to replace part of the pipeline supply. The largest increases in LNG imports were recorded by Italy, France, Spain, Türkiye, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. German LNG imports rose by 2.2 million tonnes to 7.07 million tonnes.

The opposite trend was observed in parts of Asia. Although the Asia-Pacific region remained the largest LNG-importing region with 168.7 million tonnes, imports into Asian markets outside this region declined by 9.2 million tonnes to 108.7 million tonnes. China remained the world’s largest individual LNG importer with 69.77 million tonnes, but its imports decreased by 8.9 million tonnes due to milder weather early in the year, higher domestic production and increasing pipeline deliveries through the Power of Siberia route. Japan maintained broadly stable imports of 67.37 million tonnes, while South Korea increased its purchases to 48.67 million tonnes.

These developments led to a reconfiguration of global trading routes. The largest interregional flow in 2025 was LNG exports from North America to Europe, which increased from 46.3 million tonnes in 2024 to 74.1 million tonnes. The United States thereby consolidated its role as the principal balancing supplier for the European market. At the same time, intra-regional trade within Asia-Pacific remained the world’s largest LNG route, at 101.8 million tonnes, supported mainly by Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia. Trade between the Middle East and Asia also remained critical, reaching 49.8 million tonnes.

The price environment in 2025 was more stable than during the European energy crisis of 2022, but remained highly sensitive to seasonal and geopolitical factors. The average price of the Asian LNG benchmark, Platts JKM, was USD 12.16/MMBtu, 2.1% higher than in 2024. The price range widened from USD 9.39/MMBtu to USD 17.12/MMBtu, reflecting competition between Asia and Europe for flexible cargoes, winter demand and short-term risk premia. For most of 2025, the Atlantic Basin was relatively well supplied, while Europe acted as a market capable of absorbing surplus LNG volumes.

The report devotes particular attention to developments in the first quarter of 2026. According to IGU, the conflict in the Middle East and risks to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz temporarily disrupted supply from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, while strikes on LNG infrastructure created the possibility of more prolonged limitations on global supply. Qatar is a particularly sensitive factor because it accounted for 18.7% of global LNG exports in 2025. The report considers this crisis to be different from previous disruptions: rather than merely increasing demand for LNG, it directly affected supply and shipping routes.

The impact on prices and trade flows was rapid. In March 2026, JKM reached USD 25.41/MMBtu, while the European TTF benchmark reached USD 22.50/MMBtu. Asian buyers diverted at least eight Atlantic Basin cargoes from Europe to Asia, demonstrating how quickly LNG flows can be redirected when security-of-supply risks emerge. At the same time, trading activity on the spot market and in derivatives increased significantly, which the report identifies as evidence of a more mature and liquid market capable of partly absorbing price shocks.

From the perspective of liquefaction capacity, 2025 was a year of substantial expansion. Global liquefaction capacity reached 524.5 million tonnes per annum after approximately 30.1 million tonnes per annum of new capacity entered operation. Major contributions came from the US Plaquemines LNG and Corpus Christi Stage 3 projects, LNG Canada, the Tortue/Ahmeyim floating project off Mauritania and Senegal, and Arctic LNG 2. Nevertheless, average utilisation of existing facilities declined slightly to 83.9%, due to outages, maintenance, adverse weather conditions and disruptions in feed-gas supply.

The investment cycle remained strong. In 2025, projects with a combined capacity of 68.4 million tonnes per annum received final investment decisions, significantly above the 14.8 million tonnes per annum approved in 2024 and representing the highest level since 2019. By the end of 2025, projects that had either received final investment decisions or were under construction totalled 234.3 million tonnes per annum. The United States accounted for the largest share, while Qatar retained a strategic position through the expansion of the North Field. At the same time, proposed but not yet sanctioned LNG projects reached 1,105.4 million tonnes per annum. The report stresses that only a portion of this very large pre-investment project pipeline will ultimately be realised, as projects are constrained by costs, financing, regulatory requirements, access to technology and geopolitical risk.

In the longer term, IGU expects the combined capacity of operational and sanctioned facilities to exceed 700 million tonnes per annum around 2030, approximately 40% above the level recorded in 2025. If geopolitical conditions normalise, this could temporarily lead to an LNG supply surplus and downward pressure on spot prices. According to the report, the market is likely to rebalance again from the mid-2030s as rising demand absorbs the new supply. Key demand drivers include population growth, urbanisation, electrification, increasing electricity consumption and the expansion of data centres.

Developments in shipping and regasification infrastructure support this outlook. The global LNG fleet increased to 804 active vessels by the end of 2025, including 49 floating storage and regasification units. During the year, 79 new LNG carriers were delivered, but the number of voyages fell by 2.8%, as a larger fleet and the use of bigger vessels created excess transport capacity and lower freight rates. By the end of 2025, a further 301 LNG carriers were under construction, equivalent to 37.4% of the active fleet. This indicates expectations of continued growth in LNG trade and the replacement of older, less efficient vessels.

Receiving infrastructure also expanded. Global nominal regasification capacity reached 1,113.5 million tonnes per annum across 50 markets, after 20 projects in 13 countries entered operation in 2025. Despite this expansion, average utilisation was only 39.2%, meaning that substantial spare import capacity exists globally for future disruptions in pipeline supply or regional crises. Floating terminals are becoming increasingly important because they allow import capacity to be deployed more rapidly and require lower initial investment than large onshore terminals.

Finally, the report considers LNG as a fuel for maritime transport. The number of dedicated LNG bunkering vessels reached 60, while orders for new vessels increased to 43. Europe remained the largest market in terms of operational capacity, but Asia and North America were also expanding their infrastructure. The use of bio-LNG is increasing as well, particularly in European ports. IGU presents LNG as a transitional maritime fuel that can support compliance with stricter environmental rules, although its long-term role will depend on technologies for reducing methane emissions and on the further development of bio-methane and synthetic methane.

Overall, the World LNG Report 2026 depicts the LNG market as larger, more flexible and more liquid than before, but not fully protected from geopolitical shocks. Record trade volumes in 2025, US export growth, Europe’s renewed role as a major importing market and the expansion of infrastructure create favourable conditions for continued growth. At the same time, developments in the Middle East in 2026 demonstrate that concentration of supply and vulnerability of maritime routes remain systemic risks. IGU’s main practical conclusion is that energy security will increasingly depend on geographic diversification of suppliers, flexible contracts, sufficient import capacity, liquid markets and investment in emerging low-carbon technologies.