Competition pattern of the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade by network analysis

• An LNG trade competition network is built using complex network theory.
• The global LNG trade competition intensity has already been at a very high level.
• The main LNG exporters competition group is detected.
• LNG exporters’ competitiveness is quantified.
• LNG exporters are divided into three categories according to their trade prospects.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) has been categorized as a global commodity because of the continuous globalization of the LNG trade, and there is very close competition between LNG exporters worldwide. However, the overall competition structure and degree of the global LNG trade system were not well portrayed or quantified in the existing literature. This paper examined the trade competition pattern of the global LNG trade by building LNG trade competition networks (LTCN) from 2005 to 2014. Overall, the competitive relationship growth and competitive globalization features of the LNG trade were analyzed, and the main LNG exporter group and its evolution were studied. Moreover, the market competitiveness of LNG exporters was measured, and accordingly, these exporters were divided into three categories to depict their different development prospects, which would form a more complicated competition pattern of LNG trade in the future.