Australia Set to be the King of LNG Exports

Laxman Pai
Monday, August 12, 2019

Australia is on track to surpass Qatar as the world’s largest LNG exporter, according to Australia’s Department of Industry, Innovation, and Science (DIIS).

Australia already surpasses Qatar in LNG export capacity and exported more LNG than Qatar in November 2018 and April 2019, said a release from U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Within the next year, as Australia’s newly commissioned projects ramp up and operate at full capacity, EIA expects Australia to consistently export more LNG than Qatar, it said.

Australia’s LNG export capacity increased from 2.6 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2011 to more than 11.4 Bcf/d in 2019. Australia’s DIIS forecasts that Australian LNG exports will grow to 10.8 Bcf/d by 2020–21 once the recently commissioned Wheatstone, Ichthys, and Prelude floating LNG (FLNG) projects ramp up to full production.

Prelude FLNG, a barge located offshore in northwestern Australia, was the last of the eight new LNG export projects that came online in Australia in 2012 through 2018 as part of a major LNG capacity buildout.

Starting in 2012, five LNG export projects were developed in northwestern Australia: onshore projects Pluto, Gorgon, Wheatstone, and Ichthys, and the offshore Prelude FLNG. The total LNG export capacity in northwestern Australia is now 8.1 Bcf/d.

In eastern Australia, three LNG export projects were completed in 2015 and 2016 on Curtis Island in Queensland—Queensland Curtis, Gladstone, and Australia Pacific—with a combined nameplate capacity of 3.4 Bcf/d. All three projects in eastern Australia use natural gas from coalbed methane as a feedstock to produce LNG.

Most of Australia’s LNG is exported under long-term contracts to three countries: Japan, China, and South Korea. An increasing share of Australia’s LNG exports in recent years has been sent to China to serve its growing natural gas demand. The remaining volumes were almost entirely exported to other countries in Asia, with occasional small volumes exported to destinations outside of Asia.

Categories: LNG Gas Natural Gas Research

Related Stories

Hanwha Ocean Enlists ABB for Singapore’s First Floating LNG Terminal

POSH Set to Tow Nguya FLNG from China to Eni’s Congo Field

TotalEnergies Inks 10-Year LNG Supply Deal with South Korea’s KOGAS

Technip Energies Gets FEED Job for Inpex’ Abadi LNG Project in Indonesia

Seatrium Signs FLNG Vessel Upgrade Deal for Golar LNG

Cheniere, JERA Ink Long-Term LNG Sale and Purchase Agreement

ADNOC Signs Long-Term LNG Deal with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation

CNOOC Finds Oil and Gas in South China Sea

Centrica and Thailand’s PTT Ink Long-Term LNG Supply Deal

Thailand's PTT to Buy LNG from Glenfarne's Alaska LNG Project

Current News

Malaysia’s Petronas and Oman’s OQEP Strengthen Oil and Gas Ties

Southeast Asia’s 2GW Cross-Border Offshore Wind Scheme Targets 2034 Buildout

Pharos Energy Kicks Off Drilling Campaign Offshore Vietnam

Viridien to Shed More Light on Malaysia’s Offshore Oil and Gas Potential

US Pressure on India Could Propel Russia's Shadow Oil Exports

Energy Drilling’s EDrill-2 Rig Starts Ops for PTTEP in Gulf of Thailand

RINA Wins FEED Contract for Petronas’ Flagship CCS Project in Malaysia

ABL Secures Rig Moving Assignment with India's ONGC

Pakistan, Türkiye Deepen Oil and Gas Ties with Offshore Indus-C Block Deal

Eni-Petronas Gas Joint Venture Up for Launch in 2026

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com