Stranded or Strategic

Stranded or Strategic: The Future of Global LNG Assets

AI may be the new demand driver, but LNG has been the supply-side story of the past year. In Q1 2025, Energy Considered’s 5,000 tracked key opinion leaders referenced LNG 717 times in their commentary, framing it as the indispensable stabiliser that kept Europe’s lights on after the Russian gas shock. Imports surged by around 25% year-on-year in Q1 driven by record U.S. exports and nearly 40% by mid-2025, with the U.S. supplying more than 50% of the incremental growth As we tracked Jason Bordoff (Founding Director, Centre on Global Energy Policy, Columbia SIPA) warned in Foreign Policy, “the U.S. should not politicize LNG exports” a reminder that LNG had become a cornerstone of Europe’s energy security, not just a commercial trade. That positioning elevated LNG from commodity to geopolitical asset.

By the second Quarter, mentions dipped to 607, and the tone shifted. Our tracked policymakers and scholars began to warn that what looked like security today could become climate and economic risk tomorrow. Prices peaking near $16/MMBtu in Asia had already exposed vulnerable buyers, while Europe’s aggressive procurement squeezed out China and India, whose imports fell by more than 20%. As Energy Considered’s spotlighted voice Michael Bradshaw (Petroleum Economist and Professor at the University of War) observed, “the build-out of LNG infrastructure provides a potential anti-hero story” indispensable in the moment but raising hard questions about carbon lock-in and stranded assets.

Energy Considered’s tracked policy entrepreneurs sought a balance. In Europe, regulators recast new terminals as reserve capacity, to be tapped only in emergencies. Both the EU and U.S. tightened methane and emissions rules for LNG value chains, even as they authorised stop-gap capacity. Across Asia, governments pressed forward with LNG for security, but increasingly framed it as a bridge to renewables, storage, and hydrogen, not a permanent foundation.

Stranded or Strategic: The Future of Global LNG Assets

AI’s data-centre boom wasn’t accidental; it was reframed by Energy Considered’s key opinion leaders, who cast “power as the new moat.”

Across Energy Considered’s network of 5,000 key opinion leaders. In Q1 2025, stakeholders’ groups of consultants and investment analysts mainstreamed the view that AI is critical infrastructure pushing grid capacity, interconnection queues, and siting from technical notes to executive priorities. Mentions of AI by Energy Considered’s tracked leaders reached 854 in Q1, underscoring its deep imprint on energy policy and investment. The IEA projects global electricity demand from data centres will more than double by 2030, with AI workloads driving most of that surge. Already, Northern Virginia faces seven-year connection delays, while Ireland and Germany report similar strains. Jason Bordoff, from Academic Institutions, warned: “Winning that race [with China] is going to require that we increase electricity generation capacity in the U.S. really fast… this bill makes that harder by throwing sand in the gear to renewable energy.” Such “power realism” has set agendas.


By Q2 2025, the narrative shifted from risk to opportunity. Energy Considered’s spotlighted fund managers and market commentators normalised on-site gas as a bridge fuel while renewables and storage scale. “Even the large hyperscale’s are willing to turn a blind eye to their renewable goals… to get access,” noted tracked leader Kent Draper, CCO at IREN. At the same time, Energy Considered’s stakeholder groups of big-tech executives and academics moved nuclear from “someday” to “actively procuring.” With 2,600 GW of clean projects stalled in U.S. queues, these compromises gained traction. Mentions of AI jumped to 1,160 in Q2. Tracked policy entrepreneurs, converted narrative into action. In the U.S., pro-build voices championed fast-track orders for data-center and grid permits, tilting toward flexible, industry-led rules.

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Stranded or Strategic: The Future of Global LNG Assets - Quarter 2 2025

Case for tracking:

In Q2 2025, U.S. LNG exports surged, driven by projects like Venture Global’s Plaquemines terminal, but rising output exposed infrastructure bottlenecks, especially in the Appalachian pipeline network. Globally, LNG demand deepened across Asia, with Qatar’s capacity growth, Japan’s shifting gas outlook, and Vietnam’s power sector expansion fuelling competition. At the same time, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and China’s fluctuating dependence on imports drove price volatility, particularly in Europe, where the shift from Russian gas left supply chains fragile.

These dynamics underscored growing risks of overreliance on LNG as climate goals and supply uncertainties complicated its role as a transition fuel. Energy affordability and alignment with renewables became sharper concerns amid a fragile global energy landscape.

Volume of Mentions from Energy Considered’s Key Opinion Leaders:

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To continue reading this briefing and explore deeper insights, register for access to our Energy Insights Portal. Inside, you’ll find:

  • Extended editorial briefings with in-depth analysis and empirical data drawn from 5,000 of the world’s most influential commentators on the energy industry on key issues shaping the energy sector.
  • Monthly and quarterly data identifying and tracking how energy industry leaders are engaging with critical topics.
  • In depth research explaining why energy industry leaders are engaging with these key issues and providing the context and framework for further exploration.
  • Quantitative primary research conducted with responses from energy industry leaders on our panel, providing unique answers to the issues affecting the global energy industry.
  • Power BI dashboards offering dynamic exploration of 5,000 energy key opinion leaders, social and digital narrative analysed against 14 strategic and tactical energy industry metrics.
  • Expert interpretation of what these issues really mean to the industry and what decisions can be taken on the back of unprecedented empirical evidence.
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Please to access exclusive research and data-driven analysis.