LNG Exporters by Country
The United States is the world's largest LNG exporter, shipping about 111 million tonnes in 2025 — the first country to top 100 million tonnes in a year. Qatar is second at about 91 million tonnes, and Australia third. Below is every major exporter with a sourced figure, volume or capacity as available.
Major LNG Exporters
Volume or capacity, million tonnes — see notes per row| # | Country | Mt (or mtpa) | Measure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 111 | Volume, 2025 | First country to top 100 Mt in a single year; became the world's largest LNG exporter in 2023. |
| 2 | Qatar | 91 | Volume, 2025 | About 20 Mt behind the US; two liquefaction trains (12.8 mtpa of capacity) were struck and taken offline in March 2026 during the Iran war. |
| 3 | Australia | 87 | Capacity, 2025 | Third-largest exporter by volume; legacy projects are expected to see gradually declining output as fields mature. |
| 4 | Russia | 32 | Volume, 2023 | Sanctions have complicated financing and technology for new Russian LNG capacity (notably Arctic LNG 2), slowing planned growth. |
| 5 | Malaysia | — | Volume, 2024 | A long-established exporter; 2024 volumes rose year over year but a precise total was not available from a citable source at time of writing. |
| 6 | Nigeria | — | Volume, 2024 | Africa's other major exporter alongside Algeria; output has struggled for years against underinvestment in upstream gas supply. |
| 7 | Algeria | 11.59 | Volume, 2024 | Exports fell 1.44 Mt in 2024 due to plant maintenance — the pipeline gas business to Europe is still larger than LNG for Algeria. |
| 8 | Indonesia | — | Volume, 2024 | One of the original LNG-exporting nations from the 1970s; volumes have declined from their historical peak as legacy fields mature. |
| 9 | Trinidad and Tobago | — | Volume, 2024 | The Caribbean's only significant LNG exporter, supplied mainly from offshore natural gas. |
| 10 | Oman | — | Volume, 2024 | A steady mid-tier Gulf exporter, smaller than Qatar but running near full capacity for years. |
Export VOLUME is what a country actually shipped in a given year; CAPACITY is the maximum nameplate throughput of its liquefaction plants and is typically higher than what is actually exported in any one year (plants run below 100% utilization for maintenance, feedgas constraints and market conditions). Sourced from the IGU World LNG Report and industry reporting, hand-curated and refreshed annually — see methodology. Data updated September 23, 2026.
LNG Exporters FAQ
Which country exports the most LNG?
The United States, which shipped about 111 million tonnes of LNG in 2025 — the first country ever to top 100 million tonnes in a single year. It overtook Qatar and Australia to become the largest LNG exporter in 2023 and has extended its lead since. Qatar was second at about 91 million tonnes.
What is the difference between LNG export volume and capacity?
Volume is what a country actually shipped in a given year. Capacity is the maximum nameplate throughput of its liquefaction plants, which is normally higher than what is actually exported — plants run below 100% utilization for maintenance, feedgas availability and market demand. Both are shown below, labeled per row, since not every country publishes a recent volume figure.
Did the 2026 Iran war affect LNG exports?
Yes, directly for Qatar. Strikes in March 2026 took two of Qatar's liquefaction trains offline, removing about 12.8 million tonnes a year of capacity during the conflict — a rare case of the war directly hitting gas export infrastructure rather than only crude oil and the Strait of Hormuz. The oil crises page has the fuller account of the war.
Is Russia a major LNG exporter?
A mid-tier one — its LNG volumes are well behind the US, Qatar and Australia, and Western sanctions have complicated financing and technology for planned new capacity such as the Arctic LNG 2 project, slowing growth that was once expected to be much faster.