China and India reported the largest decline in liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports in the 2025 calendar year (CY) at 8.9 million tonnes (mt) and 1.5 mt, respectively, according to the International Gas Union (IGU).IGU’s annual world LNG report 2026 points out that Asia Pacific was again the largest LNG-importing region in 2025, rising by 3.6 mt to 168.7 mt. However, imports into Asia fell by 9.2 mt to 108.7 mt, largely driven by lower net imports into China and India and other emerging Asian markets such as Thailand and Pakistan. “The most notable declines came from China (-8.9 mt) and India (-1.5 mt), pointing to a softer Asian pull in 2025 after a strong rebound seen in 2024,” IGU added.China remained the world’s largest LNG importer in 2025, but volumes fell materially by 8.9 mt to 69.77 Mt, driven by mild seasonal demand at the beginning of the year, rising domestic production and ramped-up pipeline supply from Russia via the Power of Siberia Pipeline.India imported 24.60 mt of LNG in 2025, which accounted for 5.63 per cent of the global market share in imports. Re-gasification capacityIndia added 7.1 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) through the commissioning of a new onshore regasification terminal, Chhara LNG (5 mtpa), and an expansion onshore project - Dabhol LNG Breakwater Completion (2.1 mtpa).India surpassed Spain and became the fourth-largest market for re-gasification capacity in 2025, with 52.5 mtpa across eight terminals,” pointed out IGU’s report.Among operational LNG regasification terminals in India, Dahej LNG with a 17.5 mtpa capacity stands out as the only ultra-large facility and ranks as the sixth largest globally. The remaining seven terminals fall into the large-scale category, each with a regasification capacity of 5 mtpa, it added.India’s LNG regasification utilisation fell to around 47 per cent in 2025, down from 58 per cent in 2024. The decline reflects a combination of weaker LNG imports during the summer months and an increase in regasification capacity following recent infrastructure additions.India currently has four LNG projects under construction, including one new terminal and three expansion projects at existing facilities, including the expansion of India’s largest terminal, Dahej LNG. Once commissioned, these projects are expected to add a combined 11.3 mtpa of regasification capacity by 2028.By the end of 2025, 229.3 mtpa of regasification capacity was under construction globally, with Asia accounting for more than half of the total capacity under development. China remained the largest construction market, followed by Germany, Chinese Taipei, and India. Several emerging markets, including Nicaragua, Iraq, Cyprus, Australia, Ghana, Russia, the Bahamas, and Antigua and Barbuda, also continued developing their first LNG import terminals, highlighting the continued expansion of LNG infrastructure into new importing regions.Published on July 20, 2026