Top 10 LNG Terminals in the World 2026: Ranked by Capacity

The top 10 LNG terminals in the world now anchor a global export system undergoing its most significant capacity expansion in history. Between 2025 and 2030, approximately 325 bcm/yr of new liquefaction capacity is expected online, with annual additions peaking at around 90 bcm/yr in 2028. The United States accounted for more than 85% of LNG final investment decisions in 2025 alone, while Qatar is executing a near-doubling of its national capacity from 77.1 MTPA to 142 MTPA by the late 2020s. This list ranks the world’s largest operational and actively commissioning LNG export terminals by liquefaction capacity in 2026.

How We Ranked the Top 10 LNG Terminals in the World

Terminals are ranked by nameplate liquefaction capacity in million metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) — the standard industry metric for LNG export throughput. Only export terminals (liquefaction facilities) are included; import terminals handling regasification are excluded. To qualify, a terminal must be fully operational or actively commissioning trains as of 2026. Where a country operates a cluster of closely integrated facilities — as at Ras Laffan in Qatar — the complex is treated as a single entry and noted accordingly.

This approach reflects how the global LNG infrastructure build-out is measured by operators, traders, and project developers — by export capacity delivered to market, not by terminal count.

1. Sabine Pass LNG — Louisiana, USA

Operator: Cheniere Energy | Capacity: 29.5 MTPA

Sabine Pass is the world’s largest single liquefaction platform, with six operational trains making it the anchor of US LNG export dominance. Operated by Cheniere Energy from its Cameron Parish, Louisiana facility, the terminal has been central to the transformation of the United States from a net gas importer to the world’s leading LNG exporter. With US total capacity at 102.3 MTPA — the highest of any country globally — Sabine Pass remains the benchmark against which all other LNG terminals are measured in 2026.

2. Nigeria LNG (NLNG) — Bonny Island, Nigeria

Operator: Nigeria LNG Limited (NNPC 49%, Shell 25.6%, TotalEnergies 15%, Eni 10.4%) | Capacity: 22.2 MTPA

Nigeria LNG at Bonny Island is Africa’s largest LNG facility and one of the most significant export terminals in the global supply chain. The six-train complex has operated for more than two decades, with a seventh train now under construction following a 2019 final investment decision. Train 7 will add approximately 8.0 MTPA of capacity, with first production expected around 2027. NLNG supplies European and Asian buyers and plays a critical role in Atlantic Basin LNG supply security.

3. Arzew-Bethioua LNG — Algeria

Operator: Sonatrach (GL1Z and GL2Z plants) | Capacity: 20.8 MTPA (combined)

Algeria’s Arzew-Bethioua complex — comprising the GL1Z and GL2Z liquefaction plants operated by Sonatrach — is one of the longest-running LNG export operations in the world, with roots extending back to the earliest era of commercial LNG trade. The combined 20.8 MTPA capacity makes it the third-largest single-country complex on this list and a major supplier to European pipeline and LNG import markets. Algeria’s geographic proximity to Southern Europe makes Arzew-Bethioua a structurally important facility as European buyers diversify supply away from Russian gas.

4. Plaquemines LNG — Louisiana, USA

Operator: Venture Global LNG | Capacity: 20.0 MTPA (at peak)

Plaquemines LNG is the most significant new US export facility to enter commissioning in the current cycle. Venture Global LNG is bringing Phase 1 and Phase 2 trains online through 2025, with Phase 2 production — carrying a 6.7 MTPA nameplate capacity — confirmed started in 2025 following a 2023 FID. At peak output, Plaquemines will reach 20.0 MTPA, making it one of the largest facilities in the US portfolio. Its modular train design is a departure from the large single-train approach used at Sabine Pass and represents a significant development in LNG plant engineering.

5. Yamal LNG — Sabetta, Russia

Operator: Novatek (50.1%), TotalEnergies (20%), CNPC (20%), Silk Road Fund (9.9%) | Capacity: 17.4 MTPA

Located above the Arctic Circle at the Sabetta port on the Yamal Peninsula, Yamal LNG operates three mainline trains plus one floating liquefaction train, delivering 17.4 MTPA of export capacity. The facility is majority-owned by Russian gas producer Novatek, with TotalEnergies and CNPC as significant co-investors. Geopolitically, Yamal LNG operates under ongoing Western sanctions pressure — the related Arctic LNG 2 project has been effectively blocked — but Yamal itself continues to export, with Asia receiving the bulk of cargoes via the Northern Sea Route during summer months.

6. North West Shelf LNG — Karratha, Western Australia

Operator: Woodside Energy (operator), joint venture with BP, BHP, Chevron, Shell, Mitsubishi/Mitsui | Capacity: 16.7 MTPA

North West Shelf LNG, operating from Karratha in Western Australia since 1989, is one of the world’s longest-running LNG export facilities. The joint venture, operated by Woodside Energy, has supplied Asian buyers — particularly Japanese utilities — for more than three decades and remains a foundational asset in Australia’s 81.8 MTPA national export portfolio. Feed gas supply from legacy fields has declined in recent years, making the facility’s long-term throughput dependent on third-party gas processing agreements as the broader North West Shelf resource matures.

7. Gorgon LNG — Barrow Island, Western Australia

Operator: Chevron (operator), ExxonMobil, Shell, Osaka Gas, Tokyo Gas, JERA | Capacity: 15.6 MTPA

Gorgon LNG on Barrow Island is one of the largest natural gas projects in the world by total resource base and a flagship asset in Chevron‘s LNG portfolio. The three-train facility draws on the giant Gorgon and Jansz-Io gas fields in the Carnarvon Basin and is a major supplier to East Asian LNG buyers. The project was notable for integrating a large-scale carbon capture and storage system at startup — though CCS performance has been a subject of ongoing scrutiny relative to original projections.

8. Ras Laffan LNG Complex — Qatar

Operator: QatarEnergy | Capacity: ~15.6 MTPA per major terminal within the complex

Ras Laffan Industrial City is the world’s largest LNG export hub by country concentration. Qatar’s total capacity of 77.1 MTPA — distributed across the Qatargas and RasGas train families operating within the Ras Laffan complex — is ranked here as a single integrated facility given its shared infrastructure, port, and operational management under QatarEnergy. The scale of Qatar’s expansion programme makes this entry particularly significant: the North Field East project (32 MTPA, expected 2026) and North Field South (16 MTPA, expected 2028) will take total Qatari capacity to approximately 142 MTPA by the late 2020s. QatarEnergy is already demonstrating its reach into European markets as it secures long-term offtake positions ahead of this capacity wave.

9. Corpus Christi LNG — Texas, USA

Operator: Cheniere Energy | Capacity: ~15.0 MTPA (Phase 1 & 2) plus Stage 3 expansion

Corpus Christi LNG is Cheniere Energy’s second major export facility, located on the Texas Gulf Coast. Phase 1 and Phase 2 trains deliver approximately 15.0 MTPA of combined capacity, with a Stage 3 expansion carrying a 13.6 MTPA nameplate now commissioning through 2025 following a 2022 FID. Stage 3 production commenced in 2025, making Corpus Christi one of the fastest-growing LNG export facilities in the current build cycle. Together with Sabine Pass, Cheniere’s two facilities give the company a dominant position in global LNG supply.

10. LNG Canada — Kitimat, British Columbia, Canada

Operator: Shell (operator), Petronas, PetroChina, Mitsubishi, Korea Gas | Capacity: 14.0 MTPA (Phase 1)

LNG Canada at Kitimat entered commercial operations in 2025 as Canada’s first major LNG export facility — a milestone more than a decade in the making from initial FID in 2018. Phase 1 capacity stands at 14.0 MTPA, with a potential Phase 2 expansion representing a further doubling. Geopolitically, LNG Canada carries significant weight: it provides Asian buyers — particularly in Japan, South Korea, and China — with a Pacific-facing supply source that diversifies away from Middle Eastern and US Gulf Coast dependence. As European LNG appetite moderates, Asian demand growth makes the Pacific supply corridor increasingly strategic. The broader natural gas storage and distribution network underpinning LNG demand continues to expand across the Asia-Pacific region.

The Future of LNG Terminals: What to Watch in 2026 and Beyond

The period from 2026 to 2028 represents the steepest capacity ramp in LNG history. Qatar’s North Field East — adding 32 MTPA to the Ras Laffan complex — is the single largest capacity addition by one facility currently in execution, and its commissioning timeline through 2026 will reshape global LNG supply balances. In the United States, the wave of new LNG terminals moving from FID to commissioning — including further Plaquemines trains and the Corpus Christi Stage 3 buildout — means that US export dominance will intensify through the remainder of the decade. LNG Canada’s Pacific corridor establishes a new competitive dynamic for Asian buyers, while Nigeria LNG Train 7 reinforces Africa’s position as a long-term Atlantic Basin supplier. For project developers and terminal operators tracking the top 10 LNG terminals in the world, the key variable is not capacity — it is the pace at which demand markets, particularly in Europe and Asia, absorb the incoming supply wave without driving sustained price compression that dampens the next round of FIDs.