Record U.S. LNG Exports, Serbia Refinery Resumes Operations: Your Daily Energy News

News highlights gathered by Industrial Info and IIR Energy (Sugar Land, Texas) dealing with the energy markets.

LNG
U.S. Sets New LNG Export Records in 2025 - The U.S. in 2025 became the first country to export more than 100 million metric tons (mmt) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in a single year, powered by the startup of production from new plants, preliminary data from LSEG showed. The world's largest LNG exporter sold 111 mmt of the fuel, almost 20 mmt more than its nearest rival Qatar and nearly 23 mmt more than it did last year, LSEG data showed. (Reuters)

China Received 22 LNG Shipments from Sanctioned Russian Projects Last Year - China received 22 shipments of LNG last year from two export projects in Russia sanctioned by the United States and European Union, shiptracking data showed. One shipment was from Portovaya and the rest were from the Arctic LNG 2 project, showed data from Kpler and LSEG. The U.S. and EU have sanctioned the projects to curb revenue reaching Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Production Plant Database can click here for the related plant profiles. (Reuters)

REFINING
Serbia's NIS Gets U.S. Permission to Resume Refining - The U.S. has granted Serbia's majority-Russian refiner Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) (Novi Sad) an operating license until January 23, enabling it to resume production after a 36-day break, the energy minister said on Wednesday. The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on NIS in October as part of broader measures against Russia's energy sector after granting a series of waivers since January. On Wednesday evening, Serbia's energy minister, Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic, wrote: "Great news for the end of the year. NIS company has obtained the license from the U.S. OFAC to operate until January 23. This means the refinery in Pancevo will resume work after a 36-day break." Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Refining Plant Database can click here for the plant profile. (Reuters)

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Energy asset information on power plants, oil refineries and natural gas infrastructure is now more important than ever. A unit of Industrial Info Resources, IIR Energy provides infrastructure information on these assets, as well as real-time tracking of planned and unplanned interruptions affecting the commodity-trading community. We are the number one source for information about power plant outages, refinery turnarounds and midstream natural gas disruptions.

About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).