Global LNG trade grew 33 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2025, and American exporters supplied 31 bcm,  according to the Energy Institute’s (EI) 2026 Statistical Review of World Energy.  

The report delivers a comprehensive look at global energy production, consumption, trade, and emissions, highlighting the United States’ dominance on a world stage. The United States exported a third more LNG than Qatar, its nearest rival, and it ended 2025 as a net exporter of gas and oil alike. Meanwhile, India imported 86 percent of the oil it consumed, China imported 73 percent, and Europe imported 75 percent.  

Commenting on the report, EI President Andy Brown said: 

“…energy remains at the forefront of the world’s political and economic agenda, shaped by changing priorities on energy security, affordability and sustainability. To satisfy the continued insatiable growth in energy demand, we again see growth in all sources of total energy supply.” 

Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy hosted a webinar on July 29 featuring EI Chief Executive Nick Wayth and Selene Law, who heads the Statistical Review, moderated by the Baker Institute’s Mark Finley. One of the webinar’s key takeaways was the continued role of fossil fuels in meeting growing U.S. energy demand. As Wayth explained: 

“The U.S. energy growth was dominated by fossil … 88 percent of the year-on-year growth in energy in the United States was met by fossil.” 

The United States: From Importer to Export Superpower 

The transformation of the U.S. energy landscape over the past two decades stands as one of the most consequential shifts in modern energy history. Advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing unlocked large-scale shale production, turning the country from a major net importer into a significant net exporter of both oil and natural gas.  

In 2025, the United States remained the world’s largest oil producer at 21 million barrels per day, accounting for roughly 21 percent of global output. That is nearly the combined output of Saudi Arabia and Russia, two of the world’s largest energy producers.    

On the natural gas side, the United States produced 1,074 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2025, representing approximately 25.6 percent of global production, a level comparable to the combined output of Russia, Iran, and China. 

Source: Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy 2026

Oil remained the largest component of U.S. total energy supply at approximately 39 percent, while natural gas accounted for around 35 percent. Natural gas has been the most dynamic fossil fuel on the demand side, growing 2.1 percent a year over the decade and 1.6 percent in 2025.  

Overall, U.S. total energy supply increased by 2.2 percent in 2025, a notable contrast to the broadly flat long-term average annual growth of just 0.25 percent over the past decade. 

U.S. LNG: A Critical Pillar of Global Energy Security 

Perhaps no single development better illustrates the strategic importance of American energy than the explosive growth of U.S. liquefied natural gas exports. In 2025, U.S. LNG exports represented 93 percent of all global LNG growth. Exports surged 27 percent to 147 bcm, or 25.4 percent of the global LNG market and about a third more than Qatar. Global LNG trade as a whole expanded by 6.5 percent in 2025. 

Wayth pointed to the scale of U.S. LNG export growth as one of the report’s most significant takeaways: 

“The U.S., as the audience today knows, has really cemented its position as the global LNG exporter, increasing a remarkable 27 percent last year to reach nearly 150 million bcm, that’s a nearly a third more than the U.S.’ nearest rival Qatar, and clearly in the first half of this year, that gap will have widened.” 

Wayth also emphasized how rapidly the United States has transformed from an LNG importer into the world’s leading supplier: 

“The fact that the U.S. has gone from a net importer of LNG to a world’s largest exporter in a decade and a half, I think, is one of the most extraordinary stories in the energy sector of certainly the last century.” 

Source: Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy 2026

The importance of reliable energy extends well beyond trade statistics. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz in early 2026 laid bare just how deeply the world depends on stable energy flows. That disruption, much like the upheaval to European natural gas supplies following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is a stark reminder that energy security and geopolitical security are inseparable.  

When traditional supply routes are threatened, the world turns to reliable producers, and the United States has proven time and again that it can answer that call. 

Europe’s continued reliance on imported gas underscores this point. In 2025, Europe remained the world’s largest gas importer, with total imports rising 11 percent to 267 bcm. LNG imports into Europe surged 34.1 percent to 169 bcm, while pipeline imports fell 14.8 percent to 96 bcm. American LNG has played a central role in filling that gap: U.S. LNG supplied 81.6 bcm to the EU, 56 percent of its LNG imports. 

What the Export Boom Rests On 

Domestically, U.S. gas production has exceeded consumption every year since 2016, with output surpassing domestic demand by approximately 160 bcm in 2025.  

U.S. gas production grew from 740 bcm in 2015 to 1,074 bcm in 2025, while exports rose from 48 bcm to 241 bcm over the same period. The United States operates 17.5 percent of global refining capacity, second only to China, and while still a net importer of crude, posted net oil and refined product exports of 1.9 million barrels per day in 2025. 

Global data center electricity consumption reached 788 TWh in 2025 and 40 percent of it was in the United States. U.S. data center demand rose 25.5 percent to 312.6 TWh. U.S. generation grew 3.2 percent to 4,772 TWh, which the report attributes to this electrification and data center demand. Notably, natural gas supplied 40.7 percent of it.  

Source: Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy 2026

North America as a whole remained firmly anchored in oil and gas, which together supplied more than three-quarters of the region’s energy. This foundation of abundant domestic resources has kept energy accessible and affordable for American families and businesses, even as global markets faced repeated disruptions. 

Bottom Line 

The EI’s 2026 Statistical Review makes the case plainly: American oil and natural gas are indispensable to both domestic prosperity and global stability. The United States is the world’s largest producer of oil, the largest producer of natural gas, and the largest exporter of LNG. When supply routes close, the world turns to the countries that can still ship. In 2025 that was clearly the United States.