LNG

Australian coal-seam gas explorer Elixir Energy, the developer of CSG projects in Queensland and Mongolia and whose executive officers are industry veterans, has issued warnings about energy security in Australia.

Revenues from the Australia-Pacific LNG (APLNG) plant in Queensland for the quarter to the end of March declined amid the implementation of the sale of Australia's Origin Energy to Canadian and US funds, Brookfield Asset Management and Washington DC-based EIG.

Origin Energy, the Australian upstream supplier to the Australia-Pacific LNG export plant in Queensland, said the project provided a 40 percent increase in revenues with Origin’s share amounting to A$876 million (US$620M) during the last quarter.

The Australian Government said its LNG export revenues are forecast to reach A$90 billion (US$60.2Bln) in 2022–23 on record high global energy prices and a lower Australian dollar.

The Australian government said the nation’s LNG export earnings are forecast to rise to A$90 billion (US$58.2Bln) in the current fiscal year from A$70Bln in the previous year as the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to place upward pressure on LNG spot prices.

Santos, the Asia-Pacific LNG plant operator and Western Australia’s biggest domestic natural gas supplier, has renewed a gas supply agreements with Yara Pilbara Fertilisers to supply the Yara liquid ammonia plant on the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia.

Australian utility Origin Energy has sold a 10 percent shareholding in the Australia-Pacific LNG plant in Queensland for A$2.12Bln (US$1.58Bln) to a global investment fund.

Australian liquefied natural gas export plants shipped 6.9 million tonnes of cargoes in November, higher than the previous month but slightly down on the 7.1MT dispatched in November 2019, though still keeping the nation as the World No. 1 LNG exporter.

According to the consultants EnergyQuest, a total of 101 cargoes left Australian liquefaction plants on the West and East Coasts, up on October’s 98 cargoes.

“Deliveries to major North Asian markets were higher in November compared with November 2019,” said the report.

“Australian projects delivered a total of 91 cargoes to China, Japan and Korea in November, up from 83 cargoes a year earlier,” it added.

Australian projects delivered 38 cargoes to China in November, after delivering 31 in October and 38 in November 2019.

Thirty-nine deliveries were made to Japan in November, more than the 37 delivered in October and up on 38 delivered in November 2019.

Australia delivered 14 cargoes to South Korea in November, double the deliveries in the same month a year ago when seven cargoes were delivered.

“Average LNG plant capacity utilisation was 95.7 percent in November up from 90.0 percent in October,” said EnergyQuest.

“Australia will export around 78MT for 2020, slightly higher than the 77.5MT exported in 2019, and more than Qatar nameplate capacity,” the report added.

East Coast coal-seam-gas-to-LNG projects, Queensland Curtis LNG, Australia-Pacific LNG and Gladstone LNG, again shipped a record amount, reaching 2.126MT (32 cargoes) in November, eclipsing the record set in October of 2.050MT.

“The East Coast projects operated at 102 percent of nameplate capacity during November. This is the first time in the history of the East Coast production they have exceeded nameplate capacity,” stated the report.

LNG spot cargo prices in Asia were continuing to increase with cargoes for January delivery reported at US$5.80 to US$9.20 per million British thermal units (A$12.00 per gigajoule).

“There were six November spot cargoes reported from the East Coast, three from APLNG and three from GLNG, and 10 spot cargoes from the West Coast (16 percent of total shipments),” said EnergyQuest.

“This was significantly higher than Queensland short-term domestic gas prices in November which averaged A$5.88 per gigajoule at the Wallumbilla Hub and A$6.26 per gigajoule in the Brisbane market,” said the report. 

Nov 13 (LNGJ) - China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (Sinopec), a shareholder in the Australia-Pacific LNG plant in Queensland operated by ConocoPhillips, said it added 83 billion cubic metres of newly proven domestic natural gas reserves at the Chuanxi field in China’s onshore Sichuan Shale basin. “The reserves, certified by the Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources, raise the field’s total proven resources to 114 Bcm. The reservoir is spread over 138 square kilometres in the western part of the basin at depths of 6,000 metres,” said Sinopec.

   Sinopec reported earlier in November that it had recorded China’s highest ever daily output of shale gas at 20.62 million cubic metres in its Fuling project, the country’s first commercial shale production venture. “Fuling shale is an important gas source for the Sichuan-East gas pipeline, meeting the daily gas consumption of 40 million households,” said the company. “Since the beginning of 2020, the Fuling shale-gas field has achieved full recovery of production through non-stop drilling rig operations and rapid resumption of fracturing gas testing despite the Covid-19 outbreak,” stated Sinopec.

Australia’s charter member of the International Gas Union (IGU), the Australian Gas Industry Trust (AGIT), has appointed its first Executive Officer, Dr Jen Thompson, to further develop core objectives of promoting LNG and gas industry research and public education.