US net natural gas exports remain flat in the first half of 2024

The US trades natural gas by pipeline with Canada and Mexico and as LNG with more than 40 countries. The US imports more natural gas by pipeline from Canada than it exports, and it exports more natural gas by pipeline to Mexico than it imports. The US has been a net exporter of LNG since 2016.

The large buildout of LNG export capacity enabled LNG exports to grow from an annual average of 0.5 billion ft³/d in 2016 to 11.9 billion ft³/d in 2023. Currently, the US has seven LNG export terminals in operation and five terminals under construction. In 2023, the US was the world’s largest LNG exporter. By the end of this year, the EIA expects two new LNG export facilities - Plaquemines LNG and Corpus Christi LNG Stage 3 (an expansion of the existing Corpus Christi LNG export terminal) - to start LNG exports.

US natural gas pipeline imports from Canada play an important role in balancing the US natural gas market, particularly in the winter. Most natural gas imported by pipeline from Canada arrives in the Western and Midcontinent regions of the US. In 2023, net US pipeline imports from Canada averaged 5.2 billion ft³/d of which 83% was imported into the western US. In the first six months of 2024, net US pipeline imports from Canada averaged 5.4 billion ft³/d an increase of 11% (0.5 billion ft³/d) compared with the same period in 2023, mainly because of increased imports into the Midcontinent region.

Since the end of natural gas production in eastern Canada (offshore Nova Scotia) and growth in production in the US Appalachia region, US exports of natural gas by pipeline into eastern Canada exceeded imports from eastern Canada, making the eastern US a net exporter of natural gas by pipeline to eastern Canada for several years since 2017.

US net pipeline exports to Mexico averaged 6.3 billion ft³/d in the first six months of 2024, 7% (0.4 billion ft³/d) more than over the same period last year and 2% more (0.1 billion ft³/d) than the 2023 annual average. US-Mexico cross-border pipeline capacity is set to expand as two new natural gas pipeline projects with a total capacity of 5.3 billion ft³/d have received regulatory approvals. These projects are primarily targeting LNG export capacity being developed in Mexico that will be supplied with natural gas sourced from the US.

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