DOE's LNG Export Approvals Pass 18.6 Bcf a Day as US Supplies a Quarter of the World Market and the EU's $750 Billion Pledge Lags

The Department of Energy has approved more than 18.6 billion cubic feet a day of new liquefied natural gas exports to countries without a US free trade agreement since January 2025, according to its own tally in March 2026. That’s more new export capacity than any administration has authorised in a comparable period.

The approvals followed the end of a pause. In January 2024 the Biden administration had stopped new non-FTA export approvals while DOE studied their economic and climate effects. The new administration lifted the pause on 20 January 2025.

The approvals and the projects

The list includes Port Arthur Phase II and Commonwealth LNG in Louisiana, CP2 at 3.96 billion cubic feet a day, and expansions at Corpus Christi in Texas and Plaquemines in Louisiana. DOE approval is one step: projects also need permits from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and, most of all, buyers and financing.

Financing has come. Woodside took a final investment decision on its Louisiana LNG project, at about $17.5 billion. Venture Global approved CP2. Commonwealth LNG committed about $12.5 billion. Delfin, a floating project off Louisiana, raised about $5 billion.

The numbers

The Energy Information Administration, DOE’s statistical arm, says US LNG exports averaged 15.1 billion cubic feet a day in 2025. It expects 17.6 in 2026 and 18.6 in 2027 as new plants start up. The US is the world’s largest LNG exporter, with about 26% of global supply.

For the US economy, exports bring revenue and jobs on the Gulf Coast. The trade-off is domestic gas prices. DOE’s 2024 study found that higher exports would raise US prices somewhat. Gas prices in 2026 rose with the oil shock from the conflict with Iran, which also pushed up demand for US cargoes in Europe and Asia.

LNG as trade policy

The administration has used LNG in trade deals. In the July 2025 framework with the EU, the European side said it intended to buy $750 billion of US energy over three years, $250 billion a year. That was always ambitious: the EU’s total energy imports from the US were around $75 billion in 2024.

Purchases are running far behind. EU spending on US LNG was about $74 billion in 2025, a record but well short of the pledged pace. European officials say the commitment depends on private companies, not governments, and that it was an intention, not a contract.

Japan and South Korea also included energy purchases in their 2025 deals with Washington, including interest in a proposed Alaska LNG project. Those projects remain early.

What’s next

DOE is also re-examining the export study from 2024 and has said it will finalise a version that supports continued approvals. More applications are pending. The question for the budget and the economy is how much of the approved capacity gets built, and whether foreign buyers sign long-term contracts or stick to the short-term market.