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The global capacity of liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants could grow by more than 40% if the facilities under construction are successfully brought into operation. According to Global Energy Monitor, there were a total of 164 LNG production trains operating worldwide with a total capacity of 465.8 million tons per year by February 2024, with another 42 trains with a capacity of 191.3 million tons per year undergoing construction.
More than half of the under-construction capacities are to be launched by the United States and Qatar. In the U.S., the increase will be achieved through new phases within the Plaquemines LNG, Corpus Christi, Golden Pass, Port Arthur LNG and Rio Grande LNG projects, whereas Qatar will expand the Qatar North Field LNG project, which uses the North Dome (South Pars) field, one of the largest in the world, as its raw material base.
Other countries very likely to provide significant new capacity additions include: Australia, where the second phase of the Pluto LNG project with a capacity of 5 million tons per year is currently under construction; Canada, which is building two phases of the Canada LNG project (14 million tons per year); Mexico, where the New Fortress Altamira FLNG floating terminal (4.2 million tons per year) is being built simultaneously with the re-equipment of the Costa Azul LNG import terminal for the export of LNG; and a number of African countries, including Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria and the Republic of Congo, where 8 phases with a total capacity of 13.6 million tons of LNG per year are underway.
Overall, the LNG market is going to experience the biggest supply increase in the past decade and a half, including 2008–2011, when Qatar more than doubled its exports (from 41.1 million tons to 100.7 million tons) through the development of the North Dome field, and 2017–2020, when the U.S. more than tripled its supplies to the global market (from 17.1 million tons to 61.3 million tons). The increase in supply will help level out the price race among regions, which was especially notable at the peak of the energy crisis, when the post-Covid growth in demand in Asia coincided with a gas shortage in Europe, forcing consumers to offer suppliers the most favourable conditions possible.
