US LNG exports hit record 111 million tons as DOE fast-tracks terminals

U.S. liquefied natural gas exports broke a global record in 2025, surpassing 111 million metric tons — the first time any nation has crossed the 100-million-ton threshold in a single calendar year. The previous record was held by Australia. Export volume averaged 14.9 billion cubic feet per day throughout the year.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright signed his first LNG export authorization on January 21, 2025 — his first full day in office — reversing the Biden administration pause on new non-FTA approvals that had frozen roughly 18 pending applications. The pause had been in place since January 2024.

Wright approved three major terminals in rapid succession: Commonwealth LNG in Cameron Parish, 🎺Louisiana; Venture Global CP2 LNG also in Cameron Parish; and an extension for Golden Pass LNG in Sabine Pass, 🤠Texas. Golden Pass is a joint venture between QEQatar Energy and ExxonMobil that had been delayed by a contractor bankruptcy.

Under Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act of 1938, the Department of Energy must determine that LNG exports are 'consistent with the public interest' before approving shipments to non-free-trade-agreement countries. The Trump DOE has reweighted that analysis to prioritize economic benefits and allied energy security over environmental harm — a substantive change in how the law is applied.

Europe received roughly 68% of all U.S

LNG in 2025, up from under 50% before Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine

Key importers include Turkey, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, and Germany Asian markets — primarily Japan, South Korea, and China — received about 18%.

North America's LNG export capacity is projected to more than double by 2029 once all projects currently under construction enter service, according to the Energy Information Administration. That build-out creates pipeline infrastructure, compressor stations, and marine terminals that will lock in fossil fuel export capacity for 30-plus years.

Environmental and Gulf Coast community groups have sued to block several terminal approvals, arguing that DOE is conducting inadequate environmental reviews under NEPA — the National Environmental Policy Act — before issuing export orders. Courts have not yet reached a final ruling. Federal agencies are conducting NEPA review simultaneously with licensing rather than sequentially, a procedural change critics say limits public input.

The Congressional Research Service notes that Congress has never directly authorized any specific LNG export — that authority belongs entirely to the executive branch under the Natural Gas Act. This means the president and Energy Secretary can substantially reshape U.S. energy and foreign policy through export approvals without a single congressional vote.