Australian LNG exports for the year to November are running 1.2 Mt ahead of the same period the previous year, with EnergyQuest saying in its November report that it expects total LNG exports for the year could reach a new record of 78Mt, up on 77.5Mt exported in 2019.
EnergyQuest CEO, Graeme Bethune, said November was a strong month for Australia’s LNG exports, with 6.9 Mt shipped, which is the highest since April 2019.
“One of the reasons for the strong performance was record production from the east coast LNG projects at Gladstone,” Mr Bethune stated in the report.
“Taken together, the Gladstone projects exceeded nameplate capacity for the first time since exports commenced in January 2015.
“Total Australian exports for the year to November are running 1.2 Mt ahead of the same period last year and EnergyQuest expects that total exports for the year could reach a new record of 78 Mt, up on the 77.5 Mt exported in 2019.”
The report found that while exports have done well throughout the year, prices have experienced major effects, with total LNG export in March reaching revenue of $4.4 billion but dipping to $1.8 billion by September.
However, with strong oil and gas spot prices, revenue was able to make a comeback with EnergyQuest estimating that by October revenue reached $2.2 billion and expects it to have hit $2.9 billion in November.
Other highlights of the report included:
- In the 11 months to the end of November Australia exported 71.5 Mt, 1.2 Mt up on the 70.3 Mt exported over the same period in 2019. EnergyQuest estimates Australia will export around 78 Mt for 2020, slightly higher than the 77.5 Mt exported in 2019, and more than Qatar nameplate capacity.
- East coast projects again shipped a record 2.126 Mt (32 cargoes) in November, eclipsing the record set in October of 2.050 Mt. The east coast projects operated at 102% of nameplate capacity during November. This is the first time in the history of the east coast production they have exceeded nameplate capacity.
- Cargo delays continued to subside during November. EnergyQuest estimates 16 Australian cargoes have been delayed for more than three days awaiting final destination orders during November (five were loaded during October), after 19 October cargoes were delayed and 19 in September.
- Deliveries to major North Asian markets were higher in November compared with November 2019. Australian projects delivered a total of 91 cargoes to China, Japan and Korea in November, up from 83 cargoes a year earlier. There were seven more deliveries to Korea, one more delivery to Japan and the same number of deliveries to China compared to November 2019.
To read more highlights and the report in full, visit https://www.energyquest.com.au/energyquest-australian-lng-monthly-november-2020/
