Starting in December, Japan will begin operating "Strategic Buffer LNG," or SBL, cargoes in order to be prepared for any supply issues, starting with a minimum of one LNG cargo a month during the country's peak winter demand months over December 2023-February 2024, with JERA having been approved Nov. 24 as the first supplier.

"Together with Norwegian gas, American LNG has proven to be a reliable and steady source of supply for Europe and will contribute to Europe's energy supply security," Aasland said.

Over the next five years North America’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity to expand by 12.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) as Mexico and Canada place into service their first LNG export terminals and the United States adds to its 11.4 Bcf/d of existing LNG capacity.

Mitsui joined the Arctic LNG 2 project in 2019 via a subsidiary called Japan Arctic LNG, which secured substantial financial support from state-owned Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) as part of wider Japanese efforts to ensure stable LNG supply and diversify import sources.

About 40% of new global LNG output will come from Qatar by 2029, said Minister of Energy Saad al-Kaabi at the LNG 2023 conference.

China National Petroleum Corp. signed a 27-year LNG purchase agreement for 4 million tons annually with QatarEnergy on Tuesday.

Europe’s appetite for new LNG projects is pushing the continent to boost its import capacity by one-third, but the mismatch between future LNG demand and import facilities might result in 200-250 billion cubic metres (bcm) of unused capacity by 2030.

Germany suffered the most among EU member states from the Russian supply curtailments, with a number of buyers forced to buy expensive gas on the open market to make up for the Russian shortfall.

U.S. LNG exports will average 12.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2023, a 14% (1.5 Bcf/d) increase compared with last year. We expect LNG exports to increase by an additional 5% (0.7 Bcf/d) next year.

At the same time, Russian LNG imports into the EU rose by around a third to 14.1 million mt (19 Bcm), but it was LNG from other sources -- the US in particular -- that helped fill some of the gap left by lost Russian gas.