Utilization rates at US LNG export terminals have remained elevated relative to prior years as the disruption in the strait of Hormuz tightens global LNG supply and incentivizes US operators to maximize exports.
The utilization rate across the US' eight export terminals was 94.5pc from 1 March through 14 April, up from 90.8pc over the same span in 2025 and 79.3pc in 2024, according to Argus calculations using Kpler ship-tracking data. The high run rate comes with about a fifth of the world's LNG supply cut off by the effective closure of the strait of Hormuz.
Before the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February, US LNG terminals were already operating near peak capacity, as is often the case during winter. The utilization rate was 93.4pc in the 30 days before the war broke out, roughly in line with the 93.2pc utilization rate over the same span in 2025. But unlike in 2025, operators this year have maintained and raised run rates in March and April.
The 17.3mn t/yr Freeport LNG facility in Texas has had the biggest year-on-year output increase, excluding Venture Global's 27.2mn t/yr Plaquemines terminal in Louisiana, which was ramping up a year ago, and Cheniere's 29.8mn t/yr Corpus Christi terminal in Texas, which has been adding production from an expansion since late 2024. Freeport exported 2.11mn t between 1 March and 14 April, up from 1.87mn t a year earlier, Kpler data show, marking a 13pc increase. That equates to about three additional cargoes compared with a year earlier.
The terminal might be operating at a higher level to maximize exports, but it also has had fewer operational disruptions this year. A lightning strike on a pipeline halted Freeport's primary feedgas supply for several days in late March 2025.
Margins for US LNG offtakers have soared since the war began and likely will remain elevated in the near term. Europe, a major LNG import market, is facing its toughest gas injection season since 2022 with stocks at a four-year low and global LNG supply already tightened. This may force European buyers to compete for Atlantic basin cargoes with Asian buyers, some of which are already scrambling to secure replacement cargoes for volumes cut off from Qatar and the UAE. No laden LNG carriers have transited the strait of Hormuz since the end of February.
The tight supply environment may entice US LNG terminal operators to minimize or alter maintenance schedules. Cheniere said last month that it is reviewing its maintenance schedule to potentially send more LNG to the global market. The company completed major maintenance at its 33mn t/yr Sabine Pass plant in Louisiana last June and said in October that it did not plan to undergo any "prolonged, major maintenance" in 2026.
Venture Global, which operates Plaquemines and the 12.4mn t/yr Calcasieu Pass facility in Louisiana, underwent scheduled maintenance late last year.
Sempra's 15mn t/yr Cameron LNG in Louisiana often undergoes maintenance in May based on historical feedgas data and export volumes. A spokesperson for Cameron LNG did not respond to a request for comment on potential changes to maintenance plans.
