LNG Regasification Capacity History (1964–2025): 0.8 → 1,247 MTPA | 50 Markets

Sep 23

5 min read

17 August 2026

Commercial pioneers → Asian scale-up → FSRU → Fast-track terminals

Capacity evolution

🔹 1964–1985 | Commercial pioneers — Atlantic terminals established LNG trade; Japan built large receiving and storage infrastructure.

🔹 1986–2003 | Asian scale-up — South Korea and Taiwan joined Japan; larger terminals and national gas networks made Asia the centre of LNG demand.

🔹 2004–2014 | New import markets — India and China commissioned their first major terminals; Gulf Gateway demonstrated the FSRU concept.

🔹 2015–2021 | FSRU — Floating terminals gave Pakistan, Jordan, Egypt, Bangladesh and other countries faster access to LNG.

🔹 2022–2025 | Fast-track terminals — Europe accelerated FSRU deployment while Asia continued building large permanent terminals.

What changed?

Mega-hubs → Smaller, flexible FSRUs closer to demand
Storage: 56K m³ → 3.48M m³ → 257K m³
Schedule: 5 years (onshore) → 1 year (fast-track FSRU)

Terminal concept = Metocean + Capacity + Storage + Location

What are the drivers?

Metocean conditions — wind, waves, currents, cyclones and LNG unloading windows
Send-out capacity — baseload, peak demand and gas-grid limitations
LNG storage — cargo size, delivery frequency and required buffer
Site conditions — water depth, dredging, land availability and distance from shore
Infrastructure — jetty, mooring, breakwater, subsea pipeline and grid connection
Availability — weather downtime, redundancy and security of supply
Schedule — permanent terminal or rapid FSRU deployment
Commercial model — owned CAPEX or charter-based OPEX

LNG regasification milestones

🇬🇧 1964 — Canvey Island: 0.8 MTPA, 56K m³ — First commercial LNG trade 🇬🇧 1964 — Canvey Island: 0.8 MTPA, 56K m³ — First commercial LNG trade 🇯🇵 1973 — Sodegaura: 34.4 MTPA, 2.48M m³ — Large-scale regasification 🇰🇷 1986 — Pyeongtaek: 30.1 MTPA, 3.36M m³ — South Korean scale-up 🇮🇳 2004 — Dahej: 17.5 MTPA, 932K m³ — India's first major LNG terminal 🇺🇸 2005 — Gulf Gateway: 3.7 MTPA, 138K m³ — First offshore FSRU concept 🇨🇳 2006 — Guangdong Dapeng: 6.8 MTPA, 640K m³ — China's first large-scale LNG terminal 🇰🇼 2009 — Mina Al-Ahmadi: 3.8 MTPA, FSRU — Middle East pioneer 🇧🇩 2018 — Moheshkhali: 3.7 MTPA, 138K m³ — Bangladesh's first terminal; offshore FSRU 🇩🇪 2022 — Wilhelmshaven: 3.5 MTPA, 170K m³ — Germany's first terminal; jetty-based FSRU

Chronology of major terminals

🇬🇧 1964 — Canvey Island: 0.8 MTPA, 56K m³ 🇯🇵 1969 — Negishi: 10.8 MTPA, 990K m³ 🇪🇸 1969 — Barcelona: 12.6 MTPA, 760K m³ 🇮🇹 1969 — Panigaglia: 2.5 MTPA, 100K m³ 🇺🇸 1971 — Everett: 5.1 MTPA, 155K m³ 🇯🇵 1972 — Senboku I: 1.9 MTPA, 230K m³ 🇯🇵 1973 — Sodegaura: 34.4 MTPA, 2.48M m³ 🇯🇵 1977 — Senboku II: 10.0 MTPA, 1.44M m³ 🇺🇸 1978 — Cove Point: 13.7 MTPA, 700K m³ 🇯🇵 1978 — Chita Kyodo: 7.5 MTPA, 300K m³ 🇫🇷 1980 — Montoir-de-Bretagne: 8.0 MTPA, 360K m³ 🇺🇸 1982 — Lake Charles: 17.9 MTPA, 425K m³ 🇯🇵 1983 — Chita: 10.9 MTPA, 640K m³ 🇯🇵 1985 — Futtsu: 22.9 MTPA, 1.36M m³ 🇰🇷 1986 — Pyeongtaek: 30.1 MTPA, 3.36M m³ 🇧🇪 1987 — Zeebrugge: 6.6 MTPA, 566K m³ 🇪🇸 1988 — Huelva: 8.7 MTPA, 619.5K m³ 🇪🇸 1989 — Cartagena: 8.7 MTPA, 587K m³ 🇹🇼 1990 — Yung-An: 10.5 MTPA, 690K m³ 🇹🇷 1994 — Marmara Ereğlisi: 4.6 MTPA, 255K m³ 🇰🇷 1996 — Incheon: 40.0 MTPA, 3.48M m³ 🇯🇵 1998 — Ohgishima: 10.2 MTPA, 850K m³ 🇬🇷 2000 — Revithoussa: 5.1 MTPA, 225K m³ 🇮🇳 2004 — Dahej: 17.5 MTPA, 932K m³ 🇵🇹 2004 — Sines: 5.6 MTPA, 390K m³ 🇬🇧 2005 — Grain: 14.3 MTPA, 1.0M m³ 🇺🇸 2005 — Gulf Gateway: 3.7 MTPA, 138K m³ — Offshore FSRU 🇨🇳 2006 — Guangdong Dapeng: 6.8 MTPA, 640K m³ 🇪🇸 2006 — Sagunto: 6.4 MTPA, 600K m³ 🇰🇼 2009 — Mina Al-Ahmadi: 3.8 MTPA — FSRU 🇬🇧 2009 — South Hook: 15.6 MTPA, 775K m³ 🇦🇪 2010 — Jebel Ali: 6.0 MTPA, 150.9K m³ — FSRU 🇳🇱 2011 — Gate: 8.8 MTPA, 540K m³ 🇸🇬 2013 — Jurong: 11.0 MTPA, 800K m³ 🇮🇱 2013 — Hadera: 3.8 MTPA, 138K m³ — Offshore FSRU 🇱🇹 2014 — Klaipėda: 2.9 MTPA, 170K m³ — FSRU 🇵🇰 2015 — Port Qasim: 4.8 MTPA, 150.9K m³ — FSRU 🇯🇴 2015 — Aqaba: 3.8 MTPA, 160K m³ — FSRU 🇪🇬 2015 — Sumed: 5.7 MTPA, 170K m³ — FSRU 🇵🇱 2016 — Świnoujście: 3.7 MTPA, 320K m³ 🇧🇩 2018 — Moheshkhali: 3.7 MTPA, 138K m³ — Offshore FSRU 🇧🇩 2019 — Summit: 3.8 MTPA, 138K m³ — Offshore FSRU 🇭🇷 2021 — Krk: 4.5 MTPA, 140K m³ — FSRU 🇰🇼 2021 — Al Zour: 11.0 MTPA, 900K m³ 🇩🇪 2022 — Wilhelmshaven: 3.5 MTPA, 170K m³ — Jetty-based FSRU 🇫🇮 2023 — Inkoo: 3.0 MTPA, 151K m³ — FSRU 🇵🇭 2023 — AG&P PHLNG, Batangas: 5.0 MTPA, 257K m³ combined design storage

Methodology

Regasification capacity is expressed in MTPA.
LNG storage is expressed in m³: K = thousand; M = million.
The headline 2025 capacity follows the GIIGNL 2026 Annual Report methodology.
Onshore and floating receiving terminals are included.
The nine milestones represent selected terminals that changed the geography, scale or technology of LNG imports.
The chronology combines selected greenfield terminals, FSRUs and major expansion phases. It excludes small-scale, mothballed and temporarily deployed facilities.
For terminals developed in multiple phases, the latest reliably documented nameplate capacity is used. Where no authoritative updated capacity is available, the GIIGNL reference capacity is retained.
For FSRUs, publicly disclosed MMscf/d or bcm/y capacity is converted into an indicative MTPA equivalent.
Canvey’s initial capacity is estimated from its original commercial delivery programme and rounded to 0.8 MTPA.
Storage evolution compares selected historical benchmarks rather than global average terminal storage.
Peak FSRU capability is not used where annual pipeline or grid capacity is lower.
Capacity is not the same as actual LNG imports or terminal utilisation.
Published totals may differ because databases treat peak capacity, floating units, mothballed terminals and small-scale facilities differently.
Industry feedback, additional public data and corrections are welcome.