Global LNG trade figures for 2022 and early 2023

Every year, the International Gas Union (IGU) publishes its World LNG Report, a comprehensive public source of information on key developments and trends in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). According to the 2023 edition world LNG report, global LNG trade grew by 6.8%, reaching a new record of 401.5 million tonnes (MT) in 2022. 

As of April 2023, the global LNG trade connected 20 exporting markets with 48 importing markets, including first-time LNG importers Germany and the Philippines. 

LNG exports in 2022 

The growth in exports was mainly driven by the United States (+10.5 MT, +15%), Russia (+3.4 MT, +11.6%) and Qatar (+3.1 MT, +4%). Australia remained the largest LNG exporter in 2022, exporting 80.9 MT in 2022 vs. 79.0 MT in 2021.  

LNG imports in 2022 

In 2022, the Asia- Pacific region continued to be the largest importing region with net imports of 160.9 MT, marking an increase of 4.6 MT compared to 2021. Owing to China’s COVID-19-related lockdowns and high international prices, which dissuaded spot LNG imports in Asia, Japan once again became the world’s largest LNG importer, despite a slight decrease of its net imports (from 74.9 MT in 2021 to 73.6 MT in 2022). 

LNG liquefaction capacity in 2022 and early 2023 

In 2022, a total 19.9 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of liquefaction capacity was brought online to reach a global total of 478.4 MTPA, across 22 markets. As of April 2023, 178.3 MTPA of liquefaction capacity was either under construction or approved for development, 44% of which was in North America. 

Decarbonisation is becoming a more prominent feature in recent, developing and newly proposed projects. Decarbonising the liquefaction segment of the LNG value chain offers a significant opportunity to minimise lifecycle emissions.  Cedar LNG and Woodfibre LNG in Canada, for example, are prioritising decarbonisation using renewable hydroelectricity to power their liquefaction operations. Cheniere in the US, Sempra Energy in Mexico, Egyptian LNG in Egypt are also considering using carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) in their liquefaction plants to reduce carbon emissions.

Global regasification capacity in 2022 and early 2023 

As of April 2023, global regasification capacity had reached 970.6 MTPA. In 2022, nine new terminals were commissioned globally. The highest capacity additions were in Europe, which saw an additional 14.5 MTPA of regasification capacity, followed by Asia Pacific with 8.5 MTPA, Asia with 6 MTPA and Latin America with 2.2 MTPA. 

LNG carriers in 2022 and early 2023 

 
There were 668 active LNG vessels at the end of April 2023, including 45 floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) and eight floating storage units (FSUs). The global fleet grew by 4% with the delivery of 27 carriers in 2022. 

The full report is available for download on the IGU website.   

For a summary of the LNG global trade in 2022, please read our previous post.