What is LNG?

Taiwan signed a February 2026 trade deal committing to over $40 billion in US LNG and crude oil purchases through 2029, raising US LNG to roughly one-third of Taiwan's total supply.

“In February 2026, Taiwan signed a reciprocal trade agreement with the Trump administration, committing to over $40 billion in US LG and crude oil purchases through 2029, which will increase US LG imports to roughly one-third of Taiwan's total supply.”

New York City runs 250 diesel-fired LNG trucks per day to deliver gas to town border stations, a direct consequence of pipeline constraints.

“They were running 250 trucks around the city, diesel-fired trucks around the city to move LNG to their town border delivery points to keep the city up.”

Centrica is committing billion-pound investment in LNG infrastructure based on a view that gas remains central to Europe's energy mix for at least 20 more years.

“We clearly think gas is going to be there at least for another 20 years.”

During Winter Storm Fern, 5 BCF/day of US LNG exports were curtailed and redirected to domestic consumption.

“About 5 BCF a day of our LG exports turned down and we were able to use that gas to help support and depress here in the United States.”

China's LNG demand destruction, caused by excess idle coal capacity that utilities crank up in crises, flooded the global spot market with excess cargoes and loosened supply.

“The fact that there's all these excess cargos floating around is because of China because there's been tremendous natural gas demand destruction in China. And it's because they have all these excess capacity in coal plants that they don't use. And in the crisis, they just cranked those coal plants on and that loosened up supply on the spot market.”

Why a larger LNG export ecosystem acts as a global price buffer: more export capacity means more supply that can be redirected, capping price spikes at lower levels than in prior disruptions.

“Prices have gone from call it $10 to 20. Not 40, not 80, they've gone to 20. And they'll they'll come back down. The difference is our LG ecosystem is bigger.”

The Biden administration's final LNG export study found the vast majority of scenarios analyzed were positive toward LNG, but the administration selectively cited tail-end negative scenarios to justify its export pause.

“The findings were actually very positive towards LNG. And there was a whole host of scenarios that were studied, but the ones that were picked, which were kind of on a tail of all studies are the ones that said you shouldn't do it. But the vast majority consensus scenarios said that LNG was actually beneficial.”

Expanding US LNG export terminals will gradually globalize domestic natural gas prices, eroding the cost advantage that cheap trapped US gas currently provides to power generators.

“As we build more LNG terminals and natural gas becomes a bit more like oil a commodity, a worldwide commodity, as opposed to trapped gas in the US, then the price of natural gas will rise.”

LNG trade capacity under construction points to an approximately 50% increase in global LNG trade, but new supply will not replace disrupted Qatari and Emirati volumes in the near term.

“We are going to have an increase about 50% in terms of LG trade.”

Toby Rice on why the Iran disruption produced a $20 price spike rather than an $80 one

“Prices have gone from call it $10 to 20. Not 40, not 80, they've gone to 20. And they'll they'll come back down. The difference is our LG ecosystem is bigger.”