The first LNG shipment by Santos and its joint venture partners from Gladstone’s Curtis Island highlights Australia’s emergence as a world leader in the global LNG industry despite the global crude oil and LNG price downturn, according to APPEA.
APPEA Chief Executive Malcolm Roberts said Australia’s natural gas reserves and Asia’s thirst for clean and reliable energy have seen an unprecedented level of investment in Australian projects in recent years.
He said Australia remained on track to become the world’s leading LNG producer by 2018.
“Fortunately for Australia and the companies involved much of the infrastructure needed to export LNG is either completed or nearing completion,” Roberts said.
While the oil and gas industry faces the same headwinds as other commodities, Roberts believes LNG industry is resilient enough to fend off the latest challenges.
The International Energy Agency predicts the world gas market could grow by around 30 percent by 2030. With other producers are emerging, Roberts notes that the challenge now is to stay competitive.
Santos GLNG is now Australia’s fifth operating LNG project. Another five projects, representing a total investment of more than $160 billion, are progressing towards completion including Queensland’s Australia Pacific LNG project which is expected to be commissioned by year’s end.
In 2014-15, Australia shipped 25 million tonnes of LNG cargoes, earning $16.9 billion in export revenue. In Queensland alone, almost $1.4 billion worth of LNG has been exported this year.