War has been a boon for U.S. natural gas exports.
Even before the latest conflict between the U.S., Israel and Iran, natural gas prices in Europe and Asia were much higher than in the United States. America has plenty of natural gas reserves that are relatively easy to extract and cheap, leading companies to build massive coastal facilities to chill natural gas into liquid, after which it can be shipped to wherever it can fetch the highest price. America is now the world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), followed by Qatar and Australia.
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Qatar supplies a fifth of the world’s LNG, most of which goes to Asia. In early March, after Iranian drone attacks on Qatari energy infrastructure, the emirate suspended LNG shipments. Additionally, the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which much of the world’s oil and natural gas is shipped, has been effectively closed amid Iranian attacks on vessels. That has crimped LNG exports from the United Arab Emirates.
Iran War’s Effect on the LNG Market
“Iran’s attacks on Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG export facility, the world’s largest, have been disruptive,” says Rockford Weitz, director of the maritime studies program at Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. “Iran has also deterred all LNG carriers from transiting the Strait of Hormuz for now. These disruptions have raised spot prices for LNG.”
With the war-related disruptions, prices for LNG in Asia have doubled to three-year highs. In turn, that has sent prices in Europe skyrocketing because that market has to compete with Asia for LNG deliveries.
“Losing as much as 20% of global LNG availability, even temporarily, is putting significant strain on an already fragile energy system following Europe’s shift away from Russian gas after the invasion of Ukraine,” says Rebecca Babin, senior equity trader for CIBC Private Wealth US.
The Middle East conflict and its effects on the LNG market are reminiscent of 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine roiled global energy markets. Then, Europe lost its main source of piped natural gas, from Russia, and had to turn to the limited global market for LNG. Exports from the U.S. have taken on new importance as Europe tries to wean itself from Russian energy.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Energy authorized a 13% increase in exports from a liquefied natural gas terminal in Louisiana owned by Venture Global Inc. (ticker: VG). The Trump administration has approved more than 18.6 billion cubic feet per day of LNG export authorizations after ending a Biden-era ban on exports to nations that don’t have free trade agreements with the U.S. That includes the European Union.
Why LNG Prices React Differently Than Crude Oil Prices
One reason natural gas prices in Europe and Asia are reacting so dramatically is that LNG cargoes are less interchangeable than those for oil.
“Crude oil can often be rerouted relatively quickly, and policymakers have tools such as strategic petroleum reserves that can help relieve short-term supply stress,” Babin says. “In LNG markets, there are far fewer external levers available.”
Constraints on the LNG market include liquefaction capacity, tanker availability and regasification infrastructure, she notes.
Which Companies Benefit Most From Soaring LNG Prices?
When it comes to companies involved in the LNG business, those benefiting the most from the current surge in LNG prices have more uncontracted volumes or projects coming online that are not yet fully tied up with long-term contracts, Babin says. Even companies that mostly have long-term contracted volumes are seeing upward movement in their stock prices, but to a lesser extent, she adds.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at five top LNG stocks, their year-to-date returns and their trailing-12-month dividend yields:
| LNG Stock | TTM Dividend Yield | YTD Return* |
| Cheniere Energy Inc. (LNG) | 0.8% | 29.7% |
| Venture Global Inc. (VG) | 0.6% | 90.4% |
| Flex LNG Ltd. (FLNG) | 10.3% | 19.9% |
| Golar LNG Ltd. (GLNG) | 2.2% | 25.1% |
| Range Resources Corp. (RRC) | 0.9% | 23.3% |
*As of March 17 market close.
Cheniere Energy Inc. (LNG)
No list of LNG stocks would be complete without mentioning this company, the biggest LNG producer in the U.S. and the second-biggest LNG producer in the world.
The company operates two massive LNG facilities in Louisiana and Texas and has expansion plans for both.
In its fourth-quarter report, the company noted that it produced a record amount of LNG last year. It reported $20 billion in sales and net income of $5.3 billion.
Roughly 90% of the company’s production is locked up in long-term contracts, limiting how much it can capitalize on the latest LNG moves. But the remaining 10% is open to spot contracts, which could prove profitable for the company.
Venture Global Inc. (VG)
LNG liquefaction and export facilities are major investments that involve extensive permitting and financing requirements. A decision to go ahead with construction, known in industry circles as a “final investment decision,” is a big deal because it indicates a strong level of long-term market and political confidence from both the company and its backers.
In mid-March, this LNG exporter announced a final investment decision (FID) for the second phase of a facility in Louisiana and said it had secured more than $8 billion to bring the project’s total financing to $20.7 billion. It marks the fifth FID in fewer than seven years for the company and is expected to slingshot Venture Global past Cheniere into pole position for largest U.S. LNG exporter.
Like Cheniere, most of Venture Global’s production is already contracted. While that means the companies don’t have much room to take advantage of large price moves on the spot market, the upside of such contracts is stability and long-term visibility for investors.
Flex LNG Ltd. (FLNG)
Because natural gas has to be chilled to minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit at atmospheric pressure, it takes more than special liquefaction facilities like those run by Cheniere and Venture Global to transport LNG. It also takes specialized tankers to get the fuel from liquefaction facilities to regasification plants around the world.
Flex LNG is one of the companies that specializes in operating these carriers, helping form a crucial link in global energy trade given that there aren’t any natural gas pipelines spanning the Atlantic or Pacific oceans.
The company has more than a dozen modern LNG carriers in its fleet, and most of them are chartered under long-term contracts.
Vince Stanzione, CEO at First Information, a publisher of educational materials related to financial spread betting and derivatives trading, points to Flex LNG’s relatively young fleet and strong dividend of about 10%.
“Overall, Flex LNG is positioned as a defensive, high-yield LNG shipping play with low spot volatility thanks to long-term contracts,” Stanzione says.
Still, the company says it expects to have three ships open to take spot market cargoes this year, which means it can potentially benefit from higher near-term prices while also having the stability from its other ships that are under contract.
Golar LNG Ltd. (GLNG)
This LNG company has transformed itself from an LNG shipping business to one focused on floating liquefied natural gas infrastructure.
It owns and operates vessels that turn natural gas into liquid at offshore gas fields rather than at large onshore facilities like those operated by Cheniere and Venture Global. The LNG is then loaded onto other ships for ocean transport.
According to the company, floating facilities take less time to construct than their land-based counterparts, which results in quicker return on investment.
Like other stocks on this list, Golar’s shares are up more than 25% year to date. And all of these stocks are up 20% or more in 2026. So several of these names may bear watching and waiting for more attractive entry points.
Range Resources Corp. (RRC)
Of course, the natural gas that is eventually turned into LNG has to come out of the ground first.
Large vertically integrated natural gas producers such as Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and Chevron Corp. (CVX) are involved in the LNG market, but they also produce oil, transport hydrocarbons, have chemicals businesses and market their own products.
There’s something to be said for a smaller producer, such as Range Resources, that has a relatively large portion of its business exposed to the LNG export market.
In a February presentation, the company said about 25% of its natural gas sales go to the LNG export and premium Gulf of Mexico markets. It operates in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale, the largest natural gas field in the U.S., and reports having about 30 years of undrilled inventory with a break-even price of $2.50 per million British thermal units. This puts Range Resources in a strong position, as New York futures were trading significantly higher, at $3.057, on March 18.
Gimme Credit senior bond analyst Evan Mann last week reaffirmed his “improving” credit score rating on Range Resources, saying the company should benefit in the medium term from an increase in LNG export capacity as well as other factors including production growth, low well costs and growing demand from data centers.
“With credit metrics comparable to its investment-grade peers, we believe it will only be a matter of time before the company’s senior unsecured ratings are upgraded to a low-investment-grade level,” Mann said in a note.
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5 Best LNG Stocks to Buy in 2026 originally appeared on usnews.com
