Despite a record-breaking 81.4 million tonnes of Australian liquified natural gas (LNG) export in 2022, EnergyQuest’s latest report suggests that exports will fall in 2023.
The report from EnergyQuest attributed the growth in revenue from LNG exports – up 86 per cent from 2021 – to higher oil and LNG spot prices.
Dr Graeme Bethune, EnergQuest CEO, said that Australia was among the largest LNG exporters for 2022, only 0.4 million tonnes behind the two countries in the top spot, Qatar and the US.
The report predicted that the general upward trend in exports is unlikely to continue into 2023, with other countries picking up the slack.
“Following the depletion of reserves from the Bayu-Undan gas field, the Santos-operated Darwin LNG project will be out of action until the Barossa field comes online, hopefully in 2025… First cargoes from the Woodside-operated Scarborough LNG project are not due until 2026,” Bethune said.
Exports from Australia’s largest contributors, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, were up 2.1 per cent on 2021, totalling 71 per cent of the country’s LNG export. Queensland exported 29 per cent of the total, down 3.3 per cent.
Bethune warned against any decision by the government to trigger the Australian domestic gas security mechanism (ADGSM).
“Japan and Korea have already publicly expressed concern about any cut to exports,” he said.
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