The Claim

Set a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export record, becoming the first country ever to export more than 100 million metric tons of LNG in a single year.

The Claim, Unpacked

What is literally being asserted?

Two factual claims: (1) the U.S. set a new LNG export record in 2025, and (2) the U.S. became the first country to export more than 100 million metric tons (MMt) of LNG in a single year.

What is being implied but not asserted?

By placing this achievement in a section titled “Unleashing American Energy Dominance,” the claim implies that the Trump administration’s energy policies — particularly the reversal of Biden’s LNG export pause and the “Unleashing American Energy” executive order — caused or significantly contributed to this record. The framing suggests that the record would not have occurred without the current administration’s actions.

What is conspicuously absent?

The 5-10 year construction timelines for LNG export terminals. Every facility that contributed to the 2025 record was approved by FERC years before Trump took office in January 2025 — most during the Obama administration, with additional expansions approved during Trump’s first term and the Biden administration. The single largest contributor to the year-over-year increase, Plaquemines LNG, received FERC approval in September 2019, began construction in 2021, reached FID under Biden in May 2022, and shipped its first cargo in December 2024 — all before Trump’s second inauguration. Also absent: the fact that Biden’s LNG export pause (January 2024) applied only to pending applications for new non-FTA export authorizations and did not affect any terminal already under construction or in operation.

Evidence Assessment

Established Facts

The U.S. exported approximately 111 million metric tons of LNG in 2025, a record and the first time any country exceeded 100 MMt in a single year. EIA data shows LNG exports averaged 15.1 Bcf/d in 2025, up 26.5% from 11.9 Bcf/d in 2024. Multiple industry trackers (ICIS, Kpler) confirm the 111 MMt figure. This placed the U.S. roughly 30 MMt ahead of Qatar’s 81 MMt, reinforcing U.S. status as the world’s largest LNG exporter. ¹

Plaquemines LNG was the primary driver of the year-over-year increase, shipping 16.4 MMt in its first full year of operation. Venture Global’s Plaquemines LNG in Louisiana shipped its first commissioning cargo on December 26, 2024, and ramped rapidly through 2025. Of the approximately 23 MMt increase over 2024, Plaquemines alone accounted for the majority. ²

Every operating LNG export terminal that contributed to the 2025 record received its FERC construction authorization before January 20, 2025. The eight operational U.S. LNG export terminals and their FERC approval dates: Sabine Pass (April 2012, Obama), Cove Point (September 2014, Obama), Freeport (July 2014, Obama), Cameron (June 2014, Obama), Corpus Christi Stages 1-2 (December 2014, Obama), Elba Island (June 2016, Obama), Calcasieu Pass (February 2019, Trump first term), Plaquemines Phase 1 (September 2019, Trump first term). Corpus Christi Stage 3 received FERC approval in November 2019 (Trump first term). ³

Biden’s January 2024 LNG export pause did not affect any terminal under construction or in operation. The pause applied only to pending DOE applications for export authorization to non-Free Trade Agreement countries. All eight operational terminals and all facilities under construction (including Plaquemines and Corpus Christi Stage 3) had already received both FERC and DOE approvals. Cheniere explicitly stated the pause would have “no impact on the overall timelines for our expansion projects.” A federal judge stayed the pause in its entirety in July 2024. ⁴

LNG export terminals take 5-10 years from initial permitting to first cargo. Sabine Pass: FERC approved April 2012, first cargo February 2016 (4 years). Plaquemines: FERC approved September 2019, first cargo December 2024 (5+ years). Corpus Christi Stage 3: FERC approved November 2019, FID June 2022, first LNG December 2024 (5 years). These timelines mean that the facilities producing the 2025 record were conceived, approved, financed, and largely built across three administrations. ⁵

Strong Inferences

Corpus Christi Stage 3 was the second major source of new capacity, with four of seven trains reaching substantial completion in 2025. Cheniere Energy’s Corpus Christi Stage 3 expansion (1.4 Bcf/d, approximately 10 MMtpa) saw Train 1 produce first LNG in December 2024, with Trains 2-4 reaching substantial completion in August, October, and December 2025 respectively. ⁶

Trump’s “Unleashing American Energy” executive order (January 20, 2025) had no material impact on 2025 LNG export volumes. The executive order reversed Biden’s LNG pause and instructed DOE to resume processing non-FTA export applications. But the pause had been judicially stayed since July 2024, and it never affected any facility under construction. The first new non-FTA authorization after the executive order — for Commonwealth LNG, a project not yet under construction — came on February 14, 2025. No new terminal authorized under this executive order contributed a single cargo to the 2025 record. ⁷

The 2025 record was the predictable result of capacity additions that had been under construction for years. Industry analysts had forecast U.S. LNG exports reaching approximately 14-15 Bcf/d in 2025 well before the 2024 election, based on the known construction schedule for Plaquemines Phase 1, Corpus Christi Stage 3, and continued high utilization of existing terminals. The 2025 result tracked these forecasts. ⁸

U.S. LNG exports have set records in nearly every year since the first Sabine Pass cargo in February 2016, growing from 0.5 Bcf/d in 2016 to 15.1 Bcf/d in 2025. The growth trajectory reflects sequential terminal construction, not any single administration’s policies. Exports were flat in 2024 (11.9 Bcf/d vs. 12.0 Bcf/d in 2023) primarily because no major new capacity came online until Plaquemines in December 2024, along with a prolonged outage at Freeport LNG (June 2022 explosion, offline until February 2023). ⁹

What the Evidence Shows

The factual core of this claim is accurate: the United States did export approximately 111 million metric tons of LNG in 2025, a record, and became the first country to exceed the 100 MMt threshold. The U.S. exported roughly 30 MMt more than Qatar, the second-largest exporter.

But the implied attribution is where the claim falls apart. LNG export terminals are among the most capital-intensive infrastructure projects in the energy sector, requiring billions of dollars in investment and 5-10 years of permitting, financing, and construction. Every terminal that contributed to the 2025 record received its FERC authorization before Trump’s second inauguration. The single largest source of new capacity — Plaquemines LNG, which shipped 16.4 MMt — was approved by FERC in September 2019 during Trump’s first term, reached FID under Biden in May 2022, and began exporting under Biden in December 2024. Corpus Christi Stage 3, the other major new entrant, followed a similar multi-administration trajectory: FERC approval in November 2019, FID in June 2022, first LNG in December 2024.

The claim’s placement in the context of Biden’s LNG export pause is particularly misleading. That pause applied only to pending applications for new non-FTA export authorizations — not to any terminal already approved, under construction, or in operation. Every facility that shipped LNG in 2025 was unaffected by the pause. Cheniere Energy, the nation’s largest LNG exporter operating both Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi, explicitly confirmed this. A federal court stayed the pause in July 2024 regardless.

Trump’s “Unleashing American Energy” executive order, signed on inauguration day, reversed the already-stayed pause and directed expedited processing of new applications. The first resulting authorization — for Commonwealth LNG — came in February 2025, for a project that has not yet begun construction and will not ship LNG for years. No new terminal authorized under Trump’s second administration contributed any volume to the 2025 record.

The six original terminals (Sabine Pass, Cove Point, Freeport, Cameron, Corpus Christi, Elba Island) were all approved under FERC during the Obama administration between 2012 and 2016. Calcasieu Pass and Plaquemines were approved during Trump’s first term. The FIDs and construction for the newest facilities occurred under Biden. This is a genuinely multi-administration achievement spanning a decade of policy continuity, private-sector investment, and engineering execution.

The Bottom Line

The 100 million metric ton LNG export record is real and significant. The United States became the world’s dominant LNG supplier through a decade of infrastructure buildout that no single president can credibly claim credit for. The Obama administration approved the first wave of export terminals. Trump’s first administration approved Calcasieu Pass and Plaquemines. Biden’s administration saw the FIDs, construction, and initial exports from the newest facilities. Biden’s LNG export pause, though politically significant, had zero operational impact on any facility that shipped LNG in 2025.

Claiming this record as a “win” for the current administration is like a new CEO taking credit for a factory that broke ground five years before they were hired. The record happened on Trump’s watch, and the administration’s supportive posture toward LNG exports is genuine. But the infrastructure that produced the 111 MMt was approved, financed, and built across three administrations over a decade — and would have produced the same record regardless of who occupied the White House in January 2025.

Footnotes

1. EIA, “Liquefied U.S. Natural Gas Exports,” monthly data through December 2025; OilPrice.com, “U.S. LNG Exports Break 100 Million Tons in Record 2025,” January 6, 2026; Inspectioneering, “U.S. Breaks LNG Export Records in 2025,” January 6, 2026. ↩

2. Inspectioneering, “U.S. Breaks LNG Export Records in 2025,” January 6, 2026 (16.4 MMt figure); EIA, “The eighth U.S. liquefied natural gas export terminal, Plaquemines LNG, ships first cargo,” December 2024. ↩

3. FERC orders: Sabine Pass (April 16, 2012), Cameron LNG (June 19, 2014), Freeport LNG (July 30, 2014), Cove Point LNG (September 29, 2014), Corpus Christi LNG (December 30, 2014), Elba Island LNG (June 2, 2016), Calcasieu Pass (February 2019), Plaquemines LNG (September 30, 2019), Corpus Christi Stage 3 (November 22, 2019). Sources: FERC docket records; Global Energy Monitor terminal pages. ↩

4. DOE, “The Temporary Pause on Review of Pending Applications to Export Liquefied Natural Gas,” February 2024; S&P Global, “US LNG developers react to White House pause on issuing new LNG permits,” January 30, 2024 (Cheniere quote); E&E News, “Judge overturns Biden’s LNG export pause,” July 2024 (federal court ruling). ↩

5. Construction timelines compiled from FERC docket records, Global Energy Monitor terminal pages, and Cheniere Energy press releases. ↩

6. Global Energy Monitor, “Corpus Christi LNG Terminal” (train-by-train completion dates); Cheniere Energy press releases on Stage 3 substantial completion milestones. ↩

7. Mayer Brown, “Unleashing American Energy Executive Order: Impact on LNG Exports,” February 2025; DOE, “U.S. Department of Energy Reverses Biden LNG Pause, Restores Trump Energy Dominance Agenda,” January 21, 2025; DOE conditional authorization for Commonwealth LNG, February 14, 2025. ↩

8. EIA, “North America’s LNG export capacity could more than double by 2029,” September 2025; EIA, “LNG export capacity from North America is likely to more than double through 2027,” 2024 (pre-election forecasts of 14-15 Bcf/d for 2025). ↩

9. EIA, “Ten years after first Sabine Pass cargo, U.S. LNG exports are still on the rise,” February 2026; EIA, “The United States remained the world’s largest liquefied natural gas exporter in 2024,” March 2025. ↩