Published
February 23, 2026
On February 24, 2016, Cheniere Energy shipped the first major liquified natural gas (LNG) cargo from its Sabine Pass terminal on the U.S. Gulf Coast, kickstarting one of the greatest energy revolutions in modern history. At the time, the U.S. was a net importer of natural gas. Today, it is the world’s leading exporter of LNG, outpacing longtime energy powers in the Middle East and reshaping the global energy landscape for the better.
It is fitting that this ten-year milestone coincides with the four-year anniversary of the Russia–Ukraine war—a conflict that threatened to upend global energy supply chains and trigger widespread shortages. Instead, American energy helped avert that crisis.
Since the start of the war, Europe’s consumption of U.S. natural gas has risen from just 5% of EU demand in 2021 to more than 27% today, replacing Russian pipeline gas with cleaner, reliable U.S. supply. This surge stabilized global energy markets and helped Europe and other allies avoid the worst outcomes feared at the war’s outset.
That transformation was underscored last month when the European Union signed a ban on Russian gas imports—an outcome that would have been unthinkable without U.S. energy leadership.
Yet Cheniere’s initial export license and the wave of LNG development that followed was never guaranteed. It faced opposition at every turn from many of the same organizations that later celebrated the 2023 moratorium on new LNG export licenses. Had those early challenges succeeded, Europe’s vulnerability in the face of Putin’s aggression would have been far greater.
Fortunately, today, President Trump’s energy dominance agenda is positioning the United States and its allies for decades more of energy security. In 2025, the United States once again led the world in LNG exports, becoming the first country to ship more than 100 million metric tons in a single year. Sixty-six percent of those exports went to Europe, with more likely to follow.
Recent data from the International Energy Agency shows that the United States now dominates global LNG investment decisions, accounting for 85% of all new projects worldwide and 50% of contracted sales volumes in 2025.
Importantly, this export strength has not come at the expense of American consumers. In fact, analysis by S&P Global shows that LNG exports support nearly 500,000 U.S. jobs and $1.3 trillion in GDP, while domestic natural gas prices remain among the lowest in the industrialized world, thanks to an enormous, easily accessible resource base.
None of this would be possible without American ingenuity and homegrown energy. A decade later, the lesson is clear: when America leads on energy, the world is more secure—and the future is brighter.
About the author
Dan Byers
Dan Byers is vice president for policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute with a focus on environmental and regulatory issues, Byers develops and implements strategies in support of the Institutes broader education and advocacy efforts.
