U.S. LNG Exports in 2026: Record Volumes and the Terminals Behind Them

Last reviewed on October 3, 2026.

U.S. liquefied natural gas exports kept climbing through 2025 and into 2026. EIA data show exports averaging 15.1 Bcf/d in 2025, up from 11.9 Bcf/d in 2024, and reaching a monthly record of 18.5 Bcf/d in March 2026.

Monthly LNG exports and dry gas production

Calculated from EIA monthly volumes (million cubic feet) divided by days in the month. Latest month available: July 2026 (EIA release of September 30, 2026).

A decade of growth

Large-scale exports from the Lower 48 began in February 2016, when Cheniere's Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana shipped its first cargo. Within a decade the United States went from a marginal LNG exporter to the world's largest: the EIA reported that the U.S. became the largest LNG exporter in 2023. In 2025, LNG exports were equivalent to roughly 14% of U.S. dry gas production by volume.

The operating export terminals

U.S. LNG export capacity is concentrated on the Gulf Coast, with one terminal each in Maryland and Georgia:

• Sabine Pass LNG (Cheniere, Cameron Parish, Louisiana) — the first Lower 48 export terminal, exporting since 2016.
• Corpus Christi LNG (Cheniere, Texas) — exporting since 2018, with a Stage 3 expansion built around smaller "midscale" trains.
• Cove Point LNG (Maryland) — the only East Coast export terminal on the mainland, exporting since 2018.
• Cameron LNG (Hackberry, Louisiana) and Freeport LNG (Texas) — both started exporting in 2019. Freeport was offline for months after a fire in June 2022.
• Elba Island LNG (Georgia) — a small-scale terminal that began exporting in 2019.
• Calcasieu Pass (Venture Global, Louisiana) — began exporting in 2022.
• Plaquemines LNG (Venture Global, Louisiana) — shipped its first cargo at the end of 2024 and ramped up through 2025.

Further projects, including Golden Pass LNG in Texas (a QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil joint venture), have been under construction or commissioning; check the operators' announcements and the EIA's natural gas data pages for current status.

Why LNG exports matter for Henry Hub

LNG terminals buy pipeline gas around the clock, so their feedgas demand behaves very differently from weather-driven heating demand. When terminals run near capacity, they absorb gas that would otherwise go into storage; when a terminal trips offline or goes into maintenance, that gas suddenly stays in the domestic market, which tends to weigh on Henry Hub. Many U.S. export contracts price feedgas at a percentage of Henry Hub plus a fixed liquefaction fee, which links U.S. supply to international benchmarks such as Europe's TTF and Asia's JKM. Our explainer on the Henry Hub–TTF spread covers the arbitrage, and the unit converter shows how to compare $/MMBtu with €/MWh.

What to watch

• The EIA's monthly export data (published with a lag of roughly two months) and its weekly Natural Gas Weekly Update, which tracks feedgas deliveries and cargo counts.
• Start-ups of new trains and planned maintenance at existing terminals.
• The spread between Henry Hub and overseas prices, which decides how attractive spot cargoes are.