Global liquefied natural gas exports by country 2023

The world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 2022 was the United States, with an export volume of 114.4 billion cubic meters. At that time, Qatar ranked second. LNG is natural gas that been made into a liquid by cooling to -260 degrees Fahrenheit/-162 degrees Celsius for shipping and storage purposes. LNG emerged in the 19th century so that it would be possible to transport natural gas through pipelines. 

Global LNG trade

China was the world’s largest LNG importing country in 2023. In that year, the country imported around 97.8 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas. Following China was Japan, with imports amounting to 90.3 billion cubic meters in 2022. In 2022, the total global LNG trade volume amounted to 542 billion cubic meters.

Qatar’s natural gas industry

Qatar is a key player in the world supply of natural gas, in fact it has the world’s third largest conventional natural gas reserves. Most of their natural gas is found in the massive offshore North Field, an area that is about the size of Qatar itself. Qatar’s massive natural gas reserves amount to about 24.7 trillion cubic meters in 2020. Natural gas production in Qatar came about to about 177 billion cubic meters in 2021.