Latin American LNG demand dries up
The return of hydropower, economic pain and cheaper alternatives are dampening regional LNG consumption
LATIN America has emerged as an important liquefied natural gas market in recent years. But the region’s demand for the supercooled fuel will reverse over the course of this year, with Brazil, Argentina and Mexico all likely to take less LNG. Slowing regional demand will put pressure on producers Trinidad & Tobago and Peru, which will also have to contend with the arrival of US LNG. Brazil has emerged as a major LNG buyer in recent years. Gas is a marginal fuel in Brazil, typically used to plug gaps in power demand when hydropower output falls. Severe drought has sapped output from the country’s hydropower base in recent years, leading to a surge in gas demand. LNG imports have been used
Also in this section
18 February 2026
The global gas industry is no longer on the backfoot, hesitantly justifying the value of its product, but has greater confidence in gas remaining a core part of the global energy mix for decades
18 February 2026
With marketable supply unlikely to grow significantly and limited scope for pipeline imports, Brazil is expected to continue relying on LNG to cover supply shortfalls, Ieda Gomes, senior adviser of Brazilian thinktank FGV Energia,
tells Petroleum Economist
17 February 2026
The 25th WPC Energy Congress, taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 26–30 April 2026, will bring together leaders from the political, industrial, financial and technology sectors under the unifying theme “Pathways to an Energy Future for All”
17 February 2026
Siemens Energy has been active in the Kingdom for nearly a century, evolving over that time from a project-based foreign supplier to a locally operating multi-national company with its own domestic supply chain and workforce
