Australian LNG exports fell sharply in September to 4.2 million mt, down 0.9 million mt from the previous month, according to a monthly report by the energy consultancy, EnergyQuest.
Australian LNG export projects shipped a total of 63 cargoes in September, compared to 76 cargoes in August.
West coast LNG projects shipped 2.4 million mt in September – down from 3.4 million mt in August – due in particular to lower output from Chevron’s Gorgon plant and the Woodside-operated North West Shelf (NWS) project, the report said.
Worth mentioning, Chevron’s second LNG export project in Western Australia, Wheatstone, has begun to produce LNG and is expected to ship its first cargo in the last week of October.
Despite political pressure to reduce exports and allocate it to the domestic market, Queensland LNG projects shipped 2 cargoes more than in August, or 1.8 million mt in total. Shipments were the highest since the start of 2017, with spot LNG sales by both GLNG and APLNG, according to the consultancy.
The third Curtis island project, QCLNG has begun a month of significant planned outages, with both GLNG and APLNG currently operating at close to full capacity, the report noted.