May 19, 2026 [Reuters]- The amount of natural gas flowing to the nine big U.S. liquefied natural gas export plants ‌looked set to hit a 16-week low on Tuesday even though QatarEnergy/Exxon Mobil’s Golden Pass plant in Texas was on track to return, according to data from financial company LSEG.

The U.S. became the world’s biggest LNG exporter in 2023, surpassing Australia and Qatar, as surging global prices fed ​demand for more low-cost U.S. gas.

That U.S. gas has become increasingly important in meeting growing demand for energy around ​the world in recent years as supply disruptions linked to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the ⁠U.S.-Israeli war with Iran caused global gas prices to spike.

Average gas flows to U.S. LNG export plants fell from a monthly ​record high of 18.8 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in April to 16.9 bcfd so far in May, according to LSEG data, ​due to spring maintenance reductions at several plants, including the Golden Pass and Freeport LNG’s export plant in Texas.

On a daily basis, LNG feedgas was on track to fall from 16.3 bcfd on Monday to 15.1 bcfd on Tuesday, the lowest since January 27.

One billion cubic feet is enough ​gas to supply around five million U.S. homes for a day.

That decline came despite an expected increase in flows to around ​0.3 bcfd at Golden Pass after the plant took in almost no gas for six days in a row. Golden Pass exported its ‌first LNG ⁠cargo in late April.

There is one liquefaction train capable of turning about 0.8 bcfd of gas into LNG operating at Golden Pass and two other 0.8-bcfd trains under construction and expected to enter service later in 2026 and in 2027.

Tuesday’s daily U.S. feedgas decline also came despite near-record flows of 2.56 bcfd at Cheniere Energy’s Corpus Christi plant in Texas. If correct, that would ​be the biggest daily gas ​flow to Corpus, which has ⁠new trains in testing and under construction, since pulling in 2.64 bcfd in late January.

Corpus will have the capacity to turn about 3.9 bcfd of gas into LNG once all of ​its new Stage 3 liquefaction trains enter service around the end of the year.

As for ​daily losses, feedgas ⁠to Cheniere’s 4.5-bcfd Sabine Pass plant in Louisiana and Freeport LNG’s 2.4-bcfd plant in Texas were both on track to drop to 16-week lows of 3.4 bcfd at Sabine and 0.6 bcfd at Freeport on Tuesday, down from 4.4 bcfd at Sabine and 1.2 bcfd ⁠at Freeport ​on Monday.

A spokesperson at Cheniere said the sixth of seven trains at ​the Stage 3 expansion at Corpus started producing its first LNG last week. Cheniere had no comment on Sabine.

Officials at Freeport also had no comment on their ​plant, while officials at Golden Pass were not immediately available for comment.