Europe displaces Asia as leading destination for US LNG

Adebayo Obajemu

Europe has finally upstaged Asia as the biggest destination for U.S. liquefied natural gas as the energy- famished region is looks for ways to cut its dependence on Russian supplies.

The U.S. dispatched nearly three quarters of all its LNG to Europe in the first four months of 2022, with daily shipments to the region more than tripling from last year’s average, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Tuesday.

Last year, the bloc was the destination for only a third of American supplies. The increase means the US now accounts for nearly half of Europe’s LNG imports, about twice the share seen in 2021.

The Biden Administration has vowed to boost supplies of fuel to Europe after the bloc decided to move away from Russian gas in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine in February. Even before that, the region had already been struggling with a supply crunch that sent European gas prices skyrocketing to unprecedented levels.