Ranking
How concentrated LNG capacity is
The share of today's operating capacity held by the largest few terminals and countries, and of operating ships built by the largest shipyards. Export and import apart, each as a share of its own total.
A share of its own total, never of anything wider
Each row below takes one status (operating) and one direction, adds up that capacity, and asks what the largest 1, 3, 5, 10 and 20 hold. Export (liquefaction) and import (regasification) are different quantities, so they are separate rows and never added. A unit with no reported capacity is not in a total, so the shares are of the capacity that is reported.
Owners are not ranked here: ownership percentages are reported for too few stakes to give an honest share (see biggest owners, where every figure is a floor).
Share held by the largest few
Each cell is the share of the row’s total held by the largest N items in it. A dash means there are fewer than N items.
| Measured | Items | Total | Largest 1 | Largest 3 | Largest 5 | Largest 10 | Largest 20 | Needed for half |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminals, export (liquefaction) | 59 | 496 Mtpa | 8.2% | 22% | 30% | 46% | 68% | 12 |
| Countries, export (liquefaction) | 25 | 496 Mtpa | 21% | 53% | 66% | 85% | 99% | 3 |
| Terminals, import (regasification) | 200 | 1190 Mtpa | 4.6% | 11% | 15% | 23% | 34% | 40 |
| Countries, import (regasification) | 49 | 1190 Mtpa | 20% | 47% | 57% | 73% | 88% | 4 |
| Shipyards | 29 | 822 vessels | 26% | 73% | 86% | 94% | 99% | 3 |
“Needed for half” is how many of the largest items it takes to reach half of the row’s total. Countries are credited with the capacity of the terminals they host; shipyards are counted by operating vessels built, all vessel types.
The single largest in each set
- Terminals, export (liquefaction)
QatarEnergy LNG (N)
40.8 Mtpa, 8.2% of 496 Mtpa
- Countries, export (liquefaction)
United States
102 Mtpa, 21% of 496 Mtpa
- Terminals, import (regasification)
Incheon LNG Terminal
54.5 Mtpa, 4.6% of 1190 Mtpa
- Countries, import (regasification)
Japan
242 Mtpa, 20% of 1190 Mtpa
- Shipyards
Hanwha Ocean
211 vessels, 26% of 822 vessels
For the full lists see largest terminals, countries by capacity and shipyards.
Common questions
Each answer stands on its own.
- How much of the world’s LNG export capacity is in the five largest terminals?
- 30% of the operating export capacity the tracker reports, spread over 59 terminals, and the ten largest hold 46%. Capacity is operating units only, and a unit with no reported capacity is not in the total.
- How many countries hold half of the export capacity?
- 3 of 25 countries with operating export capacity (United States is the largest). A country is credited with the terminals it hosts, which is not the same as who owns or sells the gas.
- Is import capacity more spread out than export capacity?
- By terminal, yes: the ten largest import terminals hold 23% of operating import capacity, against 46% for the ten largest export terminals. Import and export capacity are different quantities, so the two are compared as shares and never added.
- Does this say anything about market power?
- No. It counts how infrastructure is distributed across places and yards. Who owns the capacity, who buys the gas and how it is traded are not in the tracker, which is also why owners are not ranked here: ownership percentages are reported for too few stakes for a share to be honest.
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