World Bulletin / News Desk

The U.S. is expected to 'dethrone' Qatar, the biggest global LNG exporter, with its 30 planned LNG terminals and with six more under construction.

According to official figures from the International Gas Union and the International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas Importers, Qatar exported 77 million tons of LNG in 2016.

While sales to the Asian region accounted for more than 60 percent of Qatar's total LNG exports, the country's top export destinations were Japan, South Korea, India, the U.K. and China. Qatar exported 14.5 million tons of LNG to Japan, 12.3 million to South Korea, 8.8 million to India, 9.3 million to the U.K. and around 5 million tons to China.

Qatar's total capacity of 77 million tons of LNG is distributed as follows:

The Qatargas-1 terminal has a capacity of 9.5 million tons, Qatargas-2 has 15.6 million, Qatargas-3 has 7.8 million, Qatargas-4 totals 7.8 million tons, Rasgas-1 terminal's capacity amounts to 6.6 million tons, Rasgas-2 has 14.1 million tons and Rasgas-3 totals 15.6 million tons.