EIA: 10 years after first Sabine Pass cargo, US LNG exports are still on the rise
Published by Jessica Casey,
Editor
LNG Industry,
10 years ago, on 24 February 2016, the first LNG cargo from the Sabine Pass Terminal was exported from the US, marking the beginning of a new era in US LNG exports. Today, the US is the world’s largest LNG exporter, ahead of both Australia and Qatar. LNG exports surged from 0.5 billion ft3/d in 2016 to 15 billion ft3//d in 2025, and in the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) February Short-Term Energy Outlook, it forecasts US LNG exports to exceed 18.1 billion ft3/d in 2027. LNG exports from the US increased for several reasons, including abundant natural gas supply and reserves, flexible LNG export contracts, and relatively low feedgas costs. In addition, increasing international demand and a favourable investment climate have supported LNG infrastructure expansions in the US.
Prior to 2016, only small volumes of LNG were shipped from the US. The first US LNG cargo crossed the Atlantic in 1959, but the trade proved uneconomical. Later, a small-capacity liquefaction terminal (about 0.2 billion ft3/d) was built in Kenai, Alaska, which shipped about 1300 cargoes to Japan between 1969 – 2011.
Sabine Pass LNG terminal in Louisiana, operated by Cheniere Energy, began operations as an import terminal in 2008. The rapid increase of oil and natural gas production from shale resources in the mid-2000s, however, curbed US LNG import demand and led terminal operators to convert some LNG import infrastructure into export infrastructure. On 24 February 2016, the first export cargo of the shale era departed aboard the Asia Vision for Brazil, carrying 3.3 billion ft3 of LNG. Since then, Sabine Pass has shipped over 3300 cargoes worldwide (39% of all US export cargoes through November 2025), according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s LNG Exports and Re-Exports Details.
The US has eight operational LNG export terminals, and by 2031 the EIA expects export capacity to nearly double compared with December 2025. Most recently, an expansion of the Corpus Christi LNG facility shipped its first cargo in March 2025, following the start-up of the Plaquemines LNG facility in late December 2024, and Golden Pass LNG is expected to ship its first cargo in early 2026.
Before the war in Ukraine began in 2022, Asia received the most volumes of US LNG exports, averaging 46% from 2017 through 2021. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, exports to Europe increased, and in 2022, Europe received 69% of all LNG exports from the US, up from 34% in 2021. From January through November 2025, Europe received 68% of US-origin volumes.
Many other LNG-exporting nations most often use more rigid, Brent crude oil futures-indexed long-term contracts. In contrast, US contracts generally feature destination flexibility, allowing customers to redirect cargoes or resell access to terminal capacity if they do not want to take receipt of the natural gas. US contracts also often feature lower feedgas costs that are indexed to Henry Hub futures prices.
Customers, such as LNG marketers, utilities, and traders, generally buy US LNG on a free-on-board basis, in which the buyer pays an inflation-indexed liquefaction fee for liquefaction, storage, and loading services, plus feedgas costs when a vessel is loaded. Feedgas cost covers LNG plant fuel, pipeline loss, on-site power generation, and storage costs. A common estimate used in US LNG tolling agreements for feedgas costs is 115% of the Henry Hub futures price. For Brent crude oil-indexed pricing, contract terms are generally between 12% – 13% of the Brent crude oil futures price, depending on the duration of the contract. Under these common pricing agreements, the price of LNG from the US is often less than LNG produced elsewhere.
Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/liquefaction/25022026/eia-10-years-after-first-sabine-pass-cargo-us-lng-exports-are-still-on-the-rise/
