US LNG Exporters Race to Tie Up Financing as Surplus Looms

By Ruth Liao (Bloomberg) — US developers are racing to cash in on the nation’s natural-gas export boom while they still can. 

The massive US buildout of terminals that process and ship liquefied natural gas, or LNG, has transformed the nation into the world’s top exporter of the fuel. But plants still in development are facing a tight deadline: By 2027, global LNG supply will exceed demand, BloombergNEF estimates. By 2030, US rival Qatar will have finished its own years-long LNG buildout, further damping appetite for new terminals. And by 2031, a massive pipeline expansion by  Gazprom PJSC could begin funneling more of Russia’s natural gas to China, possibly displacing as much as 40 million metric tons of LNG demand per year, according to BloombergNEF.

Four US projects with the capacity to export 63 million tons of LNG a year are still awaiting final investment decisions. Even the $35 billion in US plants already under construction face headwinds amid a tight labor market that’s threatening to push back timelines. Golden Pass LNG, being jointly developed in Texas by Exxon Mobil Corp. and QatarEnergy LNG, is coming online in 2025, one year later than scheduled following a worker shortage and the bankruptcy of one of its contractors. 

Here are the projects to watch.

Louisiana LNG (Under construction)

• Developer: Woodside Energy
• Capacity: 27.6 million tons per year

Woodside Energy announced its $17.5 billion final investment decision to build Louisiana LNG in late April, after the company acquired Tellurian Inc. in 2024. The facility is under construction in Calcasieu Pass, Louisiana, and targeted to come online by 2029.

Corpus Christi LNG Expansion (Under construction)

• Developer: Cheniere Energy Inc. 
• Capacity: 3 million tons per year

Cheniere Energy Inc., the largest American exporter, last month announced a $2.9 billion expansion of its Corpus Christi plant in south Texas. Two new production trains are slated to start toward the end of the decade, which would boost total Corpus Christi capacity to 30 million tons a year, including efficiency gains.

CP2 LNG (Under construction)

• Developer: Venture Global
• Capacity: 28 million tons a year

Venture Global’s $15.1 billion CP2 project in Louisiana is its third export facility, due to start in 2027. Although a permitting pause imposed by President Joe Biden delayed the project last year, President Donald Trump lifted the moratorium soon after starting his term. 

Rio Grande LNG Expansion (Awaiting final decision)

• Developer: NextDecade Corp.
• Capacity: 24 million tons a year

NextDecade Corp., which is currently constructing the first 18 million-ton-a-year phase of Rio Grande LNG in south Texas, is looking to secure funding for its two next trains, which would together add 12 million tons of capacity per year. The company’s deal with contractor Bechtel to build the expansion trains is slated to expire in September, by which time NextDecade expects to commit to the funding. More trains are also in development, but in the permitting phase.

Port Arthur LNG Expansion (Awaiting final decision)

• Developer: Sempra
• Capacity: 13 million tons a year

Sempra, which is building its two-train Port Arthur project in east Texas, is looking to expand to its second phase, doubling capacity with two more trains. Sempra has not provided guidance on when a final investment decision would be made.

Commonwealth LNG (Awaiting final decision)

• Developer: Kimmeridge
• Capacity: 9.5 million tons a year

Private equity backed Commonwealth LNG, majority owned by Ben Dell’s Kimmeridge, is looking to make a final investment decision as soon as the third quarter on its first project near Cameron, Louisiana.

Lake Charles LNG (Awaiting final decision)

• Developer: Energy Transfer
• Capacity: 16.5 million tons per year

Energy Transfer plans to make a final investment decision on its plant in Lake Charles, Louisiana, plant – formerly an import terminal – by the fourth quarter but has not yet fully contracted its capacity. 

© 2025 Bloomberg L.P.

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