Qatar LNG exports reach ‘record monthly high’ of 7.71mn tonnes in January: GECF

Qatar’s LNG exports reached a “record monthly high” of 7.71mn tonnes in January, operating well above its designed nameplate capacity, the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) said in its latest report.

In January, LNG exports from GECF member and observer countries saw a slight y-o-y decline of 0.5% (0.09 Mt), totalling 17.81mn tonnes.

Despite this annual decrease, GECF’s LNG exports increased m-o-m, reaching their highest level since January 2024.

At the country level, the decline in exports was driven by Algeria, Egypt and Nigeria, while Angola, Malaysia, Mozambique and Qatar partially offset the drop with higher LNG shipments.

In Algeria, the decline in LNG exports was due to planned maintenance at the Arzew and Skikda LNG facilities and reduced feedgas availability, due to higher domestic gas consumption.

In Egypt, LNG exports ceased in April 2024 due to declining gas production, which limited feedgas supply.

Nigeria also saw a drop in LNG exports, driven by lower feedgas availability resulting from vandalism of gas pipeline infrastructure.

Conversely, Angola and Malaysia recorded higher LNG exports, supported by improved feedgas availability. In Angola, increased gas production contributed to the rise, while in Malaysia, the lifting of force majeure on gas supply from the Sabah-Sarawak gas pipeline to the Dua Malaysia LNG facility boosted feedgas availability.

According to Doha-headquartered GECF, in January this year, global LNG exports rose by 1.8% (0.67mn tonnes) y-o-y, reaching 37.83mn tonnes, the highest level ever recorded for January.

This increase was driven by higher LNG exports from non-GECF countries and an uptick in LNG re-exports, which offset a slight decline in exports from GECF member countries.

Non-GECF countries expanded their share of global LNG exports from 50.7% in January 2024 to 51.3% in January 2025, while LNG re-exports grew from 1.1% to 1.6%.

In contrast, the share of GECF members declined from 48.2% to 47.1%.

The US, Qatar and Australia remained the top three LNG exporters in January 2025, the forum said in its monthly report.

In January 5, LNG exports from non-GECF countries reached 19.43mn tonnes, which represents a growth of 3.1% (0.59mn tons) y-o-y.

While exports saw a slight decline compared to December 2024, they remained the second-highest monthly level ever for non-GECF countries.

The rise in LNG exports was primarily driven by Indonesia, Mexico and the US, which offset lower exports from Australia and Norway.

In January, global LNG re-exports surged by 40% (0.17mn tons) y-o-y to 0.59mn tons. This represents the second consecutive monthly y-o-y increase and the highest re-exports since February 2023.

The stronger LNG re-exports came mainly from Brazil, China and Indonesia, which offset lower re-exports from Singapore, GECF noted.