Imports and Exports

With natural gas production increasing more rapidly than consumption, reliance on natural gas imports declined. Canada was the main source of natural gas pipeline imports. The United States also receives a small amount of imports in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Imports Fell as Production Grew

figure dataIn 2010, U.S. net imports (gross imports minus exports) decreased by 0.2 Bcf per day to 7.1 Bcf per day, marking the lowest volume of net imports since 1994 (Figure 2). Net imports represented 10.8 percent of total U.S. consumption, the lowest proportion since 1993. This is a remarkable change from just 2007, when net imports were the highest on record, equaling roughly 16.4 percent of consumption.

Pipeline Trade within North America

Gross pipeline imports from Canada remained around 9.0 Bcf per day. The West and Upper Midwest historically received the largest volumes of imports from Canada; for example, in 2010, Eastport, Idaho, received 1.9 Bcf per day. Significant volumes of natural gas also arrived into New York, North Dakota, Washington, Montana, and Minnesota.

A small increase in gross imports from Canada coincided with a strong increase in exports from the United States to Canada, driving net imports from Canada down for the fourth consecutive year. U.S. exports to Canada increased by 5.4 percent between 2009 and 2010. Historically, the largest volume of exports to Canada goes through St. Clair, Michigan, accounting for 88 percent of the total in 2010. Net imports from Canada in 2010 totaled 7.0 Bcf per day, a decrease of 1.1 percent from the previous year. Canadian supplies generally have decreased as a share of the U.S. market.

Gross U.S. pipeline exports to Mexico, a major destination for U.S. natural gas exports, decreased slightly to about 0.9 Bcf per day in 2010, which is close to the average level over the past 5 years.

LNG Imports

LNG imports fell in 2010 by more than 4.6 percent. Although LNG imports declined, the number of LNG source countries expanded from five to seven, with Peru and Yemen shipping cargoes to the United States for the first time from new liquefaction plants. The volume of LNG imports from existing exporters, however, was well below the 2009 level. Decreased supplies from Trinidad and Tobago (the source country with the largest contribution to U.S. LNG imports) and Egypt primarily accounted for the decline in 2010 deliveries. Imports from these countries totaled 0.5 Bcf per day and 0.2 Bcf per day, respectively, falling significantly from their 2009 levels.

In 2010, U.S. natural gas prices traded well below prices in European and Asian markets. Other parts of the world, particularly some Asian and European countries, depend more on LNG imports than the United States does. For example, Japan is the largest importer of LNG, with more than 40 LNG import terminals.  In 2010, Japan imported 3.3 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of LNG (about 9.0 Bcf per day), close to 60 percent of the total LNG imports for the Asia and Oceania region and more than 7 times what the United States imports. Other major LNG importers include South Korea and Spain, which imported 1.2 Tcf (3.3 Bcf per day) and 910 Bcf (2.5 Bcf per day), respectively, of LNG in 2009, according to the most recent data available.