2025 LNG Buyers’ Survey: Strategy in a changing energy market in Freight News 09/02/2026 As geopolitical and trade headwinds redefine global energy flows, buyers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) are increasingly prioritizing flexibility to manage risk and seize new opportunities. In 2021 and 2022, the world’s economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic coincided with sharp cuts in pipeline gas deliveries from Russia to Europe, sending spot prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG) surging.1 The LNG market evolved from an era of undersupply and elevated prices to a more balanced phase in 2023 and 2024 as additional production—particularly from the United States—became available and demand softened in key regions.2 For instance, in Europe, milder winters and efforts to curb natural gas consumption led to declining gas imports.3 With supply normalizing and volatility easing, a new wave of capacity is now expected to enter the market from Qatar and the United States, and shifting geopolitical and trade conditions are set to remake global energy flows. A new wave of supply could stabilize prices and boost latent demand Global LNG demand is expected to continue growing, particularly in Asia, spurred by ongoing regional economic growth and urbanization, the survey finds. At the same time, European buyers anticipate a gradual decline in LNG demand through at least 2040 as renewable infrastructure expands across the region, displacing gas-fired-energy production. As additional gas capacity comes online, especially in North America and the Middle East, LNG buyers around the world expect that the tightness of the supply market will ease. About 60 percent of respondents expect prices to stabilize at $7 to $10 per one million British thermal units (MMBTU) by 2030. At these prices, latent demand would likely materialize, especially in Asia. Chinese buyers—which demonstrate the greatest price sensitivity—report that they would switch from coal to LNG when the prices are equal, at around $8 per MMBTU. Buyers in other major Asian markets, including Japan and South Korea, also anticipate a potential increase in demand in response to lower prices, although the wider ranges of volumes that they report suggest greater uncertainty. Meanwhile, buyers in the rest of the world, including in Europe, believe that LNG demand will be less sensitive to lower prices. In Europe, this probably reflects buyers’ expectations of declines in long-term regional LNG demand. Apart from regional dynamics, LNG traders and portfolio players expect substantial latent demand, which likely reflects their global view emphasizing long-term growth of LNG and diversified LNG supply. Supply diversification is the primary lever to derisk geopolitics As geopolitical pressures reshape global energy flows, LNG buyers report focusing on diversifying supply sources, including capping volumes from any single supplier, as their top strategy for mitigating risk. Buyers also report a marginal preference for using lower-risk suppliers, such as those located in resource-rich countries with stable shipping routes. Notably, European buyers express a stronger preference for this strategy than others do: 30 percent prioritize lower-risk sources, compared with the global average of 25 percent. One-fifth of global LNG buyers prioritize LNG contracts that contain provisions for revising or terminating LNG agreements, consistent with results from 2023. European buyers show a higher preference for such provisi