European Union LNG imports increased in the first half of 2025. LNG supplies from the US are growing

By Marek Grzybowski

LNG carriers had significantly more work than during the same period last year in the first half of 2025. Global LNG exports increased by 3% year-on-year to 210.5 million tons. The largest player in the LNG market is currently the United States, which provided almost 25% of supplies in the first half of 2025. Qatar followed with 19.6%, Australia with 18.8%, and Southeast Asia with a 10.5% share, according to the latest report from Banchero Costa Research. In the first half of 2025, the EU imported 53.3 million tons, an 18.5% increase year-on-year.

US liquefied natural gas exports fell in June to their lowest monthly level of the year. Maintenance work was carried out at some of the country’s largest export facilities last month, negatively impacting production, according to Reuters, citing LSEG.

The United States, the world’s largest LNG exporter, sold 8.4 million metric tons of gas during June, down from 8.9 metric tons in May and well below April’s record of 9.3 metric tons, according to LSEG. During the January-June 2025 period, the United States exported 52.2 million metric tons of LNG, a 20.2% year-on-year increase compared to the 43.4 million metric tons shipped in the first half of 2024. Gas exports in June were impacted by maintenance and repairs to liquefaction facilities.

These repairs were performed at facilities such as the 4.5 billion cubic feet per day Cheniere Sabine Pass plant in Louisiana and the 2.4 billion cubic feet per day Corpus Christi plant in Texas. The 2 billion cubic feet per day Cameron LNG liquefaction plant in Louisiana also underwent maintenance. The Freeport, Texas, plant (2.1 billion cubic feet of LNG) reported unplanned production outages, LSEG found.

The USA is the main supplier of LNG
Supplies from the US market have been a key factor in market stability for several years. Global seaborne LNG trade grew rapidly in 2022, a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the decision by some European countries to abandon Russian pipeline gas and diversify their supplies.

LNG supplies remained roughly at similar levels in January-December 2023 and 2024. In 2023, global LNG supplies increased by only 1.4% year-on-year to 408.7 million tonnes, according to Refinitiv/LSEG ship tracking data.

Qatar shipped 41.2 million tons of LNG to the global market between January and June 2025, representing a 6.5% year-on-year increase in supply. Australia loaded 39.5 million tons of LNG onto tankers in the first half of 2025, representing a 3.5% year-on-year decline in deliveries. Supplies from Southeast Asia fell 4.7% year-on-year to 22 million tons. Russia shipped 15.1 million tons of LNG in the first half of 2025, a 4.9% year-on-year decline compared to 15.9 million tons in the first half of 2024.

China imported 30.7 million tons of LNG in the first half of 2025. This is a significant 21.3% year-on-year decline compared to the 39 million tonnes of LNG accepted in the January-June 2024 period. Japan imported 33.5 million tonnes of LNG by sea in the first half of 2025, an increase of only 1.2% year-on-year. South Korea imported 24.6 million tonnes in the first half of 2025, an increase of 2.3% year-on-year. India accepted 12 million tonnes of LNG from tankers in the first half of 2025, an 8.2% year-on-year decrease.

Europe is filling gas storage facilities

The European Union is filling gas storage facilities and attempting to shift away from coal by purchasing American gas and supplementing its demand with imports from the North Sea. EU countries are the world’s largest LNG importers, accounting for 25.2% of global LNG demand. In the first half of 2025, the EU imported 53.3 million tons, an 18.5% year-on-year increase compared to 45 million tons in the first half of 2024. This is also more than the record set in the first half of 2023, when 51.6 million tons were unloaded at LNG terminals.

The UK has been filling gas storage facilities at full capacity this year. By the end of June, the UK had imported 5.6 million tons of LNG, a 32.8% year-on-year increase compared to 4.2 million tons in the first half of 2024, reports Banchero Costa. However, this was significantly below the 10.8 million tons imported by sea in the first half of 2023.

European Union countries are approaching liquefied natural gas imports in a more organized manner than they did several years ago. In 2022, seaborne gas imports to European Union countries increased by 67.6% year-on-year to 100.1 million tons. Many countries in the region have had to, or have attempted to, diversify their gas supplies, which previously flowed from Russian pipelines. In 2023, LNG imports to the EU increased by 1.7% year-on-year to 101.8 million tons. In 2024, imports to the EU were revised downward by 18.4% year-on-year to 83.1 million tons. This was still significantly above the 59.7 million tons imported in 2021 or the 62.8 million tons imported in 2020.

Other terminals received fewer ships and gas. LNG tankers delivered 3.7 million tons of gas to the Montoir terminal, followed by Sines (3.5 million tons), Bilbao (3.4 million tons), Eemshaven (2.8 million tons), Wilhelmshaven (2.7 million tons), Piombino (2.7 million tons), and Huelva (2.3 million tons). January 2025 marked a significant milestone in the development of Spanish terminals.

The El Musel LNG terminal, located in Gijón, received approval to begin operations. The terminal was completed in 2013 but never opened due to low demand. The Spanish government has announced that El Musel will support Spanish and European efforts to diversify gas supplies. It will primarily serve as a logistics hub for re-export and the offloading of tanker ships and trucks.

In terms of the source of European LNG imports, the United States currently accounts for a 55.6% share of supplies to EU countries. In the first half of 2025, the European Union imported 29.6 million tons of LNG from the United States. This represents a 42.5% year-on-year increase compared to 20.8 million tons in the first half of 2024.

Supplies from Russia to the European Union decreased by 8.8% year-on-year in the first half of 2025 to 8.0 million tons, from 8.8 million tons in the first half of 2024. However, LNG carrier voyages from Russia to Europe remain relatively stable, experts from Banchero Costa Research emphasize. European LNG terminals unloaded 7.7 million tons of liquefied natural gas in the first half of 2023 and 6.4 million tons in the first half of 2021. Russia currently accounts for 15% of the EU’s total LNG imports.

“The EU gas consumption forecast assumes that as much as 200 billion cubic meters of LNG supplies will enter the market by 2028, approximately five times more than the volumes imported from Russia last year,” says Jacob Dick of the Daily Gas Price Index. Most of the additional export-generating potential is concentrated in the United States.

The main investments that could significantly increase supply in the maritime LNG market are concentrated across the Atlantic. By the end of the decade, the United States is expected to have a capacity capable of increasing supply by 95.6 million tons/year, according to analyses from NGI’s LNG Project Tracker.

As part of the EU’s Affordable Energy Action Plan, member states plan to replace up to 100 billion cubic meters of gas with alternative energy sources by 2030. It is assumed that, as a result of the introduction of other energy sources, natural gas consumption in the EU could decline to 50 billion cubic meters by 2027. This will enable the vast majority of EU countries to phase out Russian gas delivered by tankers.