據天然氣工業12月22日消息稱，美國將在2022年超過卡塔爾和澳大利亞，成為世界上最大的LNG出口國，并可能在未來幾年繼續保持這一頭銜。

在其他歐洲和亞洲的大型經濟體爭相為供暖和發電尋找足夠的供應的時候，美國卻擁有許多供應——而這些供應在未來幾年還會增長。

自2015年以來，全球LNG需求每年都創下歷史新高，這主要是由于亞洲其他地區的需求激增。美國LNG出口的穩步增長在很大程度上滿足了全球需求，自2016年以來，美國LNG出口每年都創下新紀錄，并有望在2022年繼續保持這一勢頭。

美國能源情報署預計，到2022年，美國LNG出口量將達到115億立方英尺/天。據高盛分析師稱，這將約占明年全球533億立方英尺/天的LNG需求的大約 22%，并將超過目前最大的兩個LNG出口國澳大利亞和卡塔爾。

10億立方英尺的天然氣足夠500萬美國家庭一天使用。

到2025年左右，美國仍將是最大的LNG出口國，而隨著卡塔爾北部油田的擴建項目開始投入使用，屆時卡塔爾可能會重新獲得領先地位。但如果一些美國開發商開始建設新的LNG出口工廠，美國可能不會放棄這一桂冠。

美國最大的LNG出口國切尼爾能源等主要的美國開發商近幾個月簽署了大量出售LNG的長期協議，這些協議應能使他們獲得繼續推進其他數十億美元項目所需的融資。

預計到2022年，美國將超過澳大利亞和卡塔爾，成為最大的LNG出口國。

朱佳妮 摘譯自 天然氣工業

原文如下：

U.S. to be world's biggest LNG exporter in 2022

The United States is set to become the world's biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter in 2022, surpassing Qatar and Australia, and may hold that title for years to come.

In a year when other large economies in Europe and Asia scrambled to source enough supply for heating and power generation, the United States was sitting on a bevy of supply - one that will grow in coming years.

Global LNG demand has hit record highs each year since 2015, due mostly to surging demand in the rest of Asia. Much of that global appetite has been met by steadily rising U.S. LNG exports, which have reached new records every year since 2016 and is poised to continue in 2022.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects U.S. LNG exports will reach 11.5 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2022. That would account for roughly 22% of expected world LNG demand of 53.3 bcfd next year, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs and would outpace both Australia and Qatar, the two largest exporters at present.

One billion cubic feet is enough gas for about 5 million U.S. homes for a day.

The United States should remain the biggest LNG exporter by capacity until around 2025, when Qatar could regain the lead as its North Field expansion starts to enter service. But if some U.S. developers start building new LNG export plants, the United States may not give up the crown.

Major U.S. developers like Cheniere Energy, the largest U.S. exporter, have signed numerous long-term deals to sell LNG in recent months that should enable them to secure the financing needed to go forward with additional multibillion-dollar projects.

The United States is expected to become the largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by 2022, surpassing Australia and Qatar.