US liquefied natural gas exports averaged 17.4 Bcf/d in the first half of 2026, a 23% increase over the same period last year, according to the US Energy Information Administration's Natural Gas Monthly. The growth rate is the fastest since the country began large-scale LNG exports in 2016, and the agency's latest Short-Term Energy Outlook puts second-half 2026 exports at 17.3 Bcf/d, rising to 18.7 Bcf/d in 1H27.

The driver is capacity, not just demand. New terminals and expansions at existing plants added liquefaction capability across the Gulf Coast faster than at any point in the export era.

Which projects moved the volumes?

Plaquemines LNG, on the Mississippi River south of New Orleans, is now exporting at full capacity. Corpus Christi Stage 3, on the Texas coast, is exporting from six of its seven liquefaction trains. Together, the two projects will add a combined 4.0 Bcf/d of nominal US export capacity once complete.

Golden Pass LNG, the ExxonMobil-QatarEnergy venture at Sabine Pass, began exports in April 2026 and is expected to ramp Train 1 through the end of the year, adding another 0.7 Bcf/d of nominal capacity. Golden Pass Train 2 is scheduled for completion in late 2026.

What happened to prices?

Global LNG prices stayed high enough through 1H26 to keep US terminals running near maximum output. The benchmark Title Transfer Facility price in the Netherlands averaged $14.74/MMBtu in the first half of 2026, up from $13.10/MMBtu a year earlier and the highest level since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, when 1H22 prices averaged $32.42/MMBtu as European buyers pivoted away from piped Russian gas.

The Japan-Korea Marker, the benchmark for East Asian LNG imports, averaged $15.56/MMBtu — a four-year high, up $2.38/MMBtu from 1H25, according to Bloomberg data. Hot weather across the region supported spot demand. The prior peak was $29.00/MMBtu in 2022.

How did the Strait of Hormuz disruption reshape flows?

In March, disruptions to LNG shipments through the Strait of Hormuz cut off 20% of global LNG supplies, most of it Qatari. Asian buyers, who import roughly 80% of Qatar's LNG, were forced onto the spot market to compete for limited cargoes. That scramble doubled US LNG shipments to Asia in 1H26 compared with the same period in 2025.

On a volume basis, the EIA reports:

• Exports to Asia rose 2.3 Bcf/d, a 108% increase over 1H25
• Exports to Europe rose 0.1 Bcf/d, up 1%
• Exports to Latin America and the Caribbean and to the Middle East and North Africa rose a combined 0.8 Bcf/d, up 46%

Top destination countries for the half were:

• Egypt: 1.7 Bcf/d
• Netherlands: 1.7 Bcf/d
• Italy: 1.4 Bcf/d
• France: 1.2 Bcf/d
• United Kingdom: 1.1 Bcf/d

The appearance of Egypt at the top of the destination table alongside established European buyers underscores how Hormuz-related supply losses redirected trade flows toward the Mediterranean and Atlantic basins.

What is the watch item?

The EIA's forecast of a modest dip to 17.3 Bcf/d in 2H26 followed by a climb to 18.7 Bcf/d in 1H27 hinges on the pace of Golden Pass Train 1 ramp-up and Train 2 completion in late 2026, plus the seventh train at Corpus Christi Stage 3. Any slippage in those commissioning schedules would hold exports near first-half levels. Equally, sustained recovery of Qatari shipments through Hormuz could ease the price premiums that have kept US cargo arbitrages open to Asia.