Rakhi Oli (Gastech Flowserve): Geopolitical imperatives for energy security and the rapid growth of artificial intelligence are reshaping the global energy system (Source: LNG2023 Vancouver)
March 27, 2026Written by Craig Jalal
Rakhi Ori, Gastec Board Member Review of LNG exports, data center growth and changing energy dependence
Rakhi Oli, member of the Board of Directors of Gastec and senior global leader of strategy and business development, low carbon business segment at Flowserve, said the global energy system is undergoing fundamental change.
Ms. Oli wrote that the global energy system is being reshaped by “geopolitical imperatives for energy security and the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI).”
He said the United States is at the center of that change, combining its role as the world’s largest LNG exporter with digital infrastructure and rapidly expanding demand for electricity.
U.S. LNG exports could reach 15 billion cubic feet per day in 2025 and exceed 18.1 billion cubic feet per day by 2027.
Export growth is driven by domestic gas reserves, a flexible export structure and investments along the Gulf, Ms. Oli points out.
The United States is also seeking to accelerate approval of additional liquefaction capacity, linking LNG exports to broader geopolitical objectives.
Europe has been cited as one of the clearest examples of shifting dependencies, with the region moving away from Russian pipeline gas and becoming increasingly reliant on US LNG from 2022 onwards.
Europe received 69% of US LNG exports in 2022, up from 34% in 2021, and the EU sourced about 57% of its LNG imports from the US in 2025.
Oli said this could rise to 80% by 2030 if existing contracts are fully fulfilled and demand constraints ease.
Oli also pointed to Asia as a core market for long-term LNG growth, with buyers from Japan, South Korea and India seeking supply diversity beyond the Middle East and appreciating the destination flexibility offered by US LNG contracts.
Such arrangements offer “a level of agility that traditional rigid long-term contracts cannot match,” but the turmoil around the Strait of Hormuz has tightened short-term balances and increased pressure on spot prices.
A key input to U.S. domestic LNG demand is AI-driven electricity demand, with electricity usage from data centers around the world expected to more than double by 2030. Natural gas already supplies more than 40% of U.S. data center electricity needs.
Oli cited estimates from Goldman Sachs that increased demand for data centers could increase U.S. gas demand by 3.3 billion cubic feet per day by the end of 2010.
Oli said this is creating “what industry analysts are calling an ‘oil technology buildup,'” with the US leading the world in gas-fired power generation capacity under development, with nearly 252GW planned, more than a third of which is intended to feed directly to data centers. Texas alone accounts for nearly one-third of the planned production capacity.
In that regard, the United States is currently positioned between two defining trends: the reorganization of global energy flows and the expansion of AI infrastructure. The country’s gas resource base could support both export growth and domestic electricity demand, but regional bottlenecks, infrastructure constraints and a surge in consumption could tighten the balance and increase price volatility, Oli warned.
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