Liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports will rapidly change the U.S. natural gas and energy landscape.

That's according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), which projects the U.S. will become a net exporter of natural gas on an average annual basis by 2018. In most scenarios, it also estimates that the U.S. will become a net exporter of total energy in the 2020s, due to the significant growth in natural gas trade. 

The chart below shows U.S. natural gas trade by decade. 

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration

According to the EIA's reference case, the transition to net natural gas exporter is largely driven by decreasing pipeline imports, increasing pipeline exports and dramatic growth in LNG exports. 

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With a number of U.S. LNG facility projects currently under construction, LNG is anticipated to make up a growing share of natural gas exports and surpass total pipeline exports by 2020. Currently, five LNG export facilities are expected to be completed by 2021 with a combined operational export capacity of 9.2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d). 

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