Liquefied natural gas is poised to become the United States’ second-largest net export industry within five years, adding nearly $1.4 trillion to its gross domestic product through 2040, according to an S&P Global Energy study.
In 2025, the country became the first to export more than 100 million metric tons of LNG in one year, as new plants helped production.
* The S&P study forecast total investments across the U.S. LNG supply chain to exceed $1 trillion through 2040, with a funding surge after the lifting of last year’s export “pause.”
* It estimated LNG export to generate $2.9 trillion in revenue, $206 billion of taxes and nearly $630 billion in labor income.
* It projected a 1.6% rise in domestic average household gas costs between 2026 and 2031.
* The export surge is set to double feedgas demand to 36 billion cubic feet per day by 2031, the report said.
* U.S. LNG can account for a third of the global market in five years, it added.
* Prices in Europe and Asia could jump by 50% if the new U.S. export capacity is not realized, the study predicted.
* It added that U.S. LNG exports could help stabilize domestic markets during peak demand, while infrastructure constraints remain the main driver of regional price volatility.
(Reporting by Varun Sahay in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das)