Leading countries in the global market LNG

30/04/2025

Leading countries in the global market LNG

Where it is not economically feasible or viable to deliver natural gas through pipelines, LNG serves as a means of transporting it from production sites to markets in countries and continents, helping to diversify geopolitical risks and achieve greater resilience and stability. Overall demand for LNG will remain strong due to the flexibility of this blue fuel and continued growth in energy consumption.
Global LNG trade began in the 1970s, and while the LNG market has become more active and accessible in recent years, its production and consumption is still too concentrated in the hands of a small number of countries and companies.
The LNG market is led by countries with large gas reserves and well-developed gas processing and transportation infrastructure.
LNG production is highly concentrated in a small number of countries. For example, nations such as Qatar, Australia and the United States dominate the global market. These three countries together account for about half of the world's total LNG production. This creates a situation where a few key players have a huge influence on global gas prices and supplies.
Asian countries such as China, Japan and South Korea remain the largest importers of this resource among all other regions of the world.
Natural gas is liquefied for transportation and transported on special ocean-going LNG ships or gas tankers.
At the receiving LNG import terminals, it is unloaded from the ships into special cryogenic tanks for the regasification process.
The gaseous natural gas is then delivered through pipelines to thermal power plants, industrial facilities, and domestic and commercial users.
Today, LNG accounts for about 15% of the world's gas supplies.
In 2023, global LNG trade totaled 401.42 million tons, with Europe accounting for 31% of all LNG contracts signed and the entire Asia-Pacific region accounting for 46%.
Around 180 companies in the global market participated in LNG supply under long-term contracts, with around 35% of the agreements at spot prices.
According to the Global Gas Report (GGR) 2023, presented at the ONS conference, the global LNG markets, comprising 20 exporting and 51 importing countries, remain in a delicate equilibrium as supply increases at a limited pace amid steady demand growth.
The Asian region continues to play a key role in this growth, while North America and the Middle East remain the leading exporters.
If gas demand continues to grow at the same rate as in the previous four years without additional production increases, a global supply deficit of 22% could emerge by 2030. If demand continues to grow, the shortfall will become even more pronounced.
This underscores the urgent need to expand investment. Energy consumption continued to increase in both developed and developing countries, with coal use reaching record levels in 2023, becoming the largest source of global carbon dioxide emissions.
If current trends in energy supply and demand continue, achieving decarbonization targets by 2030 will be at risk.
In Europe, energy demand is growing despite efficiency efforts and continued industrial decline.
Let's take a closer look at the world's top ten LNG producers.