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Released December 01, 2025 | SUGAR LAND
Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)
Summary
November set two records for feed gas to the eight operational LNG export terminals in the U.S. Levels above 18 billion cubic feet were 12.5% above federal estimates for the annual average.
LNG Levels Should End 2025 Up 25% Y-o-Y
November levels for the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector in the United States stood out for successive records in throughput, data from IIR Energy showed.
Drawing on the vast deposits of natural gas found in the inland shale basins, the U.S. is the world leader in LNG exports. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), part of the U.S. Department of Energy, found that total LNG exports should end in 2025 some 25% higher than last year.
Levels are already well above the expected average. Based on the amount of feed stock sent to the eight operational export terminals in the U.S., LNG levels hit a record on Wednesday, the day before the long Thanksgiving holiday, at 18.97 billion cubic feet (Bcf). That beat the previous record set on November 15 at 18.7 Bcf. Feed gas volumes started the first week of November closer to 17 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) on average.
Sabine Pass, Freeport Recovery Lifted Volumes
Operations at Sabine Pass, Louisiana, the largest export terminal in the country by volume, helped support month-end feed gas levels. With 5.08 Bcf running through the terminal on Wednesday, Sabine Pass, operated by Cheniere Energy (Houston, Texas), was running at 111% of its peak capacity.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Oil & Gas Production Plant Database can view a detailed plant profile.
Support elsewhere came from the rebound in feed gas at the Freeport LNG terminal, which has a history of issues that either curtailed production or left the facility idled altogether. Located in Texas, Freeport LNG can handle as much as 2.37 Bcf/d in feed gas, though volumes dropped to 400 million cubic feet in early November after the Gulf South Pipeline, one of nine arteries feeding the terminal, said deliveries were suppressed after the operator failed to take confirmed quantities at a delivery meter.
Freeport received 1.93 Bcf of natural gas on Wednesday. Subscribers can learn more from a detailed plant profile.
With a design capacity of 3.8 Bcf/d in feed gas volumes, meanwhile, the Plaquemines, Louisiana facility, operated by Venture Global (Arlington, Virginia), is the second-largest LNG export terminal in the U.S., after Sabine Pass.
On Wednesday, feed gas to Plaquemines was above design capacity by 369 million cubic feet, and the operator wants more. Venture Global in mid-November filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Committee (FERC) to more than double the existing export capacity.
Finishing the month out, Venture Global said last week that it signed its fourth long-term sales and purchase agreement with Tokyo Gas. While shipments would be easier from the LNG terminals on Canada's western shores than from the U.S. Gulf Coast, the deal helps with energy security for Japan, which has few resources of its own.
Happy Trump?
U.S. natural gas looks promising as well. Unlike inland crude oil production, which is on pace for a 130,000-barrel-per-day decline from 2025 levels, domestic gas should remain supportive of an LNG sector getting special treatment from President Donald Trump, who's dusted off projects from Alaska to the Gulf Coast since his return to office in January.
Some projects face more challenges than others. The Alaska facility would need an 800-mile pipeline through the tundra in order to reach completion. Meanwhile, an LNG glut is expected by the 2030s, putting a damper on the sector in general.
Key Takeaways
- Feed gas volumes are above the expected average for the year.
- Sabine Pass and Freeport helped lift levels for November.
- Too much of a good thing could create headwinds, however.
By the Numbers
- 18.97 billion cubic feet set a record for feed gas
- 16 billion cubic feet is the expected annual average
- 111% of peak capacity from Sabine Pass last week
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).
