Ranking
Where operating LNG capacity started, by decade
One map for each decade, with a dot at every terminal that added operating capacity then. Amber is export (liquefaction), blue is import (regasification); the two are never added.
The fleet as it stands, not everything ever built
Only units operating now with a start year and capacity reported are shown, so older decades are understated by whatever has since closed (see the start-year rankingfor the counts left out). A dot sits on the terminal’s coordinates and is sized by the capacity of its units that began in that decade; floating units are drawn where they are moored.
- Export
- Import
- Dot area grows with capacity started that decade
The numbers behind the maps
Terminals and capacity that started in each decade, export and import apart, with the three largest additions.
| Decade | Export terminals | Export capacity | Largest export additions | Import terminals | Import capacity | Largest import additions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0 | — | — | 3 | 27.1 Mtpa | Barcelona (12.6 Mtpa), Negishi (12 Mtpa), Panigaglia (2.5 Mtpa) |
| 1970s | 5 | 23.8 Mtpa | Arzew-Bethioua (7.9 Mtpa), Brunei (7.2 Mtpa), Cove Point (5.25 Mtpa) | 11 | 97 Mtpa | Sodegaura (31.4 Mtpa), Chita (10.9 Mtpa), Senboku 2 (9.9 Mtpa) |
| 1980s | 3 | 19.1 Mtpa | Satu Malaysia Terminal (8.4 Mtpa), Arzew-Bethioua (8.2 Mtpa), North West Shelf (2.5 Mtpa) | 9 | 121 Mtpa | Pyeongtaek (41 Mtpa), Futtsu (22.9 Mtpa), Higashi Ohgishima (13.2 Mtpa) |
| 1990s | 8 | 43.8 Mtpa | Dua Malaysia (9.6 Mtpa), QatarEnergy LNG (N) (9.6 Mtpa), QatarEnergy LNG (S) (6.6 Mtpa) | 13 | 97.4 Mtpa | Incheon (54.5 Mtpa), Ohgishima (10.2 Mtpa), Kawagoe (8.7 Mtpa) |
| 2000s | 16 | 138 Mtpa | QatarEnergy LNG (S) (29.7 Mtpa), Nigeria (18.9 Mtpa), QatarEnergy LNG (N) (15.6 Mtpa) | 37 | 262 Mtpa | Sabine Pass (30.4 Mtpa), Tongyoung (26.5 Mtpa), South Hook (15.6 Mtpa) |
| 2010s | 28 | 189 Mtpa | Sabine Pass (25 Mtpa), Yamal (16.5 Mtpa), Gorgon (15.6 Mtpa) | 85 | 316 Mtpa | Gate (11.8 Mtpa), Samcheok (11.6 Mtpa), Map Ta Phut LNG Terminal 1 (11.5 Mtpa) |
| 2020–2025 | 17 | 82.4 Mtpa | LNG Canada Terminal (14 Mtpa), Calcasieu Pass (10 Mtpa), Plaquemines (10 Mtpa) | 63 | 270 Mtpa | Al Zour (22 Mtpa), Tianjin LNG Terminal (PipeChina) (12 Mtpa), Mukran FSRU (9.92 Mtpa) |
A terminal that added units in more than one decade is counted in each. Figures are million tonnes a year. For the interactive map of every terminal and pipeline see the map.
Common questions
Each answer stands on its own.
- Which decade added the most operating LNG export capacity?
- 2010s: units that started then and still operate total 189 Mtpa across 28 terminals. That counts only units operating in the September 2025 release, so earlier decades are understated by whatever has closed.
- Which decade added the most operating import capacity?
- 2010s: 316 Mtpa across 85 terminals. Import capacity is regasification send-out, a different quantity from export capacity, so the two are drawn in different colours and never added.
- Is this a history of every LNG plant ever built?
- No. Only units operating now are shown. Retired, mothballed and idle units are left out, as are units with no start year or capacity reported. See the start-year ranking for those counts.
- What does the size of a dot mean?
- The combined capacity, in million tonnes a year, of the units at that terminal that started in that decade. A terminal that grew in stages has a separate dot in each decade it added units.
Cite this page
Reuse is welcome; please name the page and the tracker release it draws on.