The U.S. officially became the world's leading exporter of liquefied natural gas, dethroning Qatar and Australia for the first time. The increase in export comes as the demand for energy surges in China and Europe.
According to shipping data published by ICIS LNG Edge, the U.S. had exported a total of 7.7 million tons of natural gas last month. There was a record jump in production and export from Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass production plant near the Gulf of Mexico following the launch of a new liquefaction facility.
As Europe faced a new energy crisis, American exporters sent a fleet of LNG cargo carriers last month. Analysts said export became more favorable given the growing price gap between Asia and Europe.
In late December, gas prices in Europe soared to new highs as confidence in Russian supply eroded, and debate raged over the Nord Stream 2 project, which was meant to transport gas straight to Germany. The European Union imports around 40% of its natural gas from Russia, with much of it transiting via Ukraine.
On Wednesday, wholesale prices rose again as the flow of gas in a pipeline from Russia to Europe was reversed for the 16th day in a row.
Over the past few years, the European Union has attempted to reduce its reliance on Russian natural gas. The European Union's gas dependence is still almost entirely based on Moscow, particularly in the EU's closest countries to Russia.
China has been grappling with an energy shortage for months, owing in part to its attempt earlier last year to reduce the amount of electricity generated by coal-fired power plants.
Industry experts expect the U.S. to retain its spot as the world's largest LNG exporter in the coming months through the end of the year or until Qatar manages to boost its LNG production capacity to its planned 100 million tons.
The Energy Information Administration said that the U.S. has significantly increased its exports thanks to a growing number of new LNG projects. The country currently has a nominal capacity of producing up to 11.4 billion cubic feet of liquefied gas per day. The EIA said the U.S.'s export capacity is expected to increase to 13.9 billion cubic feet per day by the end of this year once new facilities are completed and operational.
Rival producers are also working to build new infrastructures to keep up with the demand. In Qatar, producers are planning to further boost capacity to reclaim their title as the world's top LNG exporter.
