By Scott DiSavino

(Reuters) – The United States will surpass Australia and Qatar as the largest liquefied gas exporter worldwide in 2022. This could be a long-lasting title.

The United States had a plethora of supplies, which was a relief in a time when China and large Asian economies struggled to find enough power and heating supply. This will continue in the coming years.

The surge in demand for LNG from China and Asia has led to record global demand. The steady rise in U.S. LNG exports has helped meet much of the global LNG demand. These records have been broken every year since 2016, and will continue to be set for 2022.

U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts that U.S. LNG Exports will exceed 11.5 Billion cubic Feet per Day (bcfd), in 2022. Analysts at Goldman Sachs (NYSE 🙂 estimate that this would represent approximately 22% of the world’s expected LNG demand of 53.3 billion cubic feet per day next year. It would surpass Australia and Qatar which are currently the largest exporters.

1 billion cubic feet equals enough gas to fuel approximately 5,000,000 homes across the U.S. for a single day.

The United States should be the world’s largest LNG exporter, in terms of total capacity, until at least 2025. Qatar will likely regain this position as it expands its North Field. The United States could lose the title if it starts building LNG export plants by U.S. builders.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE;), one of the most important U.S. importers, has signed many long-term contracts to export LNG over the past months. These deals should help them secure financing to finance additional multibillion-dollar projects. (Graphic: U.S. soon to be top dog in LNG export race, https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/ce/akvezowxwpr/Pasted%20image%201640016831799.png)

These long-term agreements were largely signed by Chinese buyers.

Chinese companies are finally making their moves after years of resisting a promise to purchase U.S. LNG for many years,” Nikos Tafos from the Center for Strategic and International Studies said.

According to U.S. Energy data, the majority of U.S. LNG exports to Asia in 2021 were to Asia. About 13% went to South Korea and 13% to China, while 10% was to Japan. These were also the top three destinations for U.S. LNG exports in 2020, when 13% went to South Korea and 12% to Japan.

The growth of U.S. LNG exports helps people worldwide “get greater access to an abundant and reasonably-priced product that helps ease the world’s current supply crunch,” said Charlie Riedl, executive director for the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas (OTC:) (CLNG).

As utilities attempted to secure LNG cargoes, gas prices all over the globe reached new records in 2021. This was in response to heavy Asian demand and low European stockpiles. U.S. futures rose to a 12 year high, closing October at a new 12-year peak. However, after the mild December weather, U.S. gas stocks rose and now prices are 11 times higher. (GRAPHIC: Worldwide natural gas prices [NGA/]

Natural gas is a more polluting fossil fuel than oil or coal, according to the oil and gas industry. Natural gas burns cleaner than coal, which reduces the amount of emissions. However, unburned methane or other gases released into the atmosphere can contribute to global warming.

Gas has been used by utilities around the globe to maintain low power prices and reliable electric grids. This is to meet growing energy demands while switching from coal to more renewables. China and other countries like it have seen an increase in coal production because of the scarcity LNG.

RBN Energy’s analysts stated that three potential developers would likely move forward over the next 12 months: Cheniere’s Stage 3 expansion to Corpus Christi in Texas and Venture Global’s Plaquemines, Louisiana. Tellurian (NYSE) Inc’s Driftwood is Louisiana. (Graphic: Natural gas prices in Europe and Asia, languish in the U.S., https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/ce/dwvkrzbqdpm/Pasted%20image%201640017894174.png)