Australia now largest exporter of LNG

AUSTRALIA has officially become the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on an annualised basis.
In sending overseas, an estimated record 77,514 million tonnes (Mt) of locally produced LNG in 2019, Australia edged out former leading LNG export titleholder Qatar, which was expected to produce 75Mt last year.
The 2019 Australian LNG exports were more than twice those of the US, the world’s other fast-growing LNG producer. The US Energy Information Administration expected the US to have exported 34,3Mt in 2019.
The Australian contribution came from across all three now fully established LNG hubs at Karratha in Western Australia, Gladstone in central Queensland and Darwin in the Northern Territory — home of both the Ichthys and Darwin LNG projects.
Total Australian 2019 LNG shipments were up by 11,4 percent on 2018, primarily due to the growth in production from the Ichthys project, operated by Japan’s INPEX.
Western Australian production was steady on 2018 and Queensland production was up by 8,2 percent to 22,4Mt, with both APLNG and QCLNG operating at close to full capacity. The figures and new world crown are confirmed in analysis of ship tracking data by respected Australian independent energy consultancy, EnergyQuest.
Its chief executive, Graeme Bethune, said on Tuesday that while Qatar’s final production figures for 2019 were yet to be produced, Australian operational capacity of 88Mt now substantially exceeds the 77Mt of its Middle Eastern rival.
“The record Australian performance for last year is 2,5Mt above the forecast of Qatar 2019 production of 75Mt, contained in the December 2019 Australian Government Resources and Energy Quarterly,” Bethune said.
“On an annualised basis, we have previously achieved the global title in some individual months but 2019 is the first time Australia has topped global LNG export performance on a sustained annual basis,” he said.
“Australia’s 10 LNG projects have a combined capacity of 87,8Mt. However, with only 88 percent of total nameplate capacity used over 2019, there remains opportunity going forward to lift the current production milestone even higher. — IOL