Australian LNG exporters cash in gas cargoes worth up to $ 180 million each


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“Domestic spot prices remain well below international spot prices, which are around $ 40 / GJ, but high international spot prices certainly encourage strong exports from Gladstone, including high priced spot cargoes,” said the company based in Adelaide.

Australian LNG exports hit a quarterly record during the July-September period, reaching 21.1 million tonnes, EnergyQuest said, noting that the strong performance continued in October when a record 7.23 million tonnes were shipped in 105 cargoes. October shipments were 85.1 million tonnes on an annualized basis, breaking the record March 2021 annualized rate of 84.8 million tonnes.

The Queensland LNG industry increased its shipments in the September quarter to 5.9 million tonnes and EnergyQuest said the quarterly record for East Coast shipments of 6.2 million tonnes set in the December quarter of last year could drop before the end of the year. The fourth quarter got off to a strong start for all three Gladstone-based exporters, with 2.12 million tonnes shipped in October, with factories accounting for an average of 96% of total installed production capacity.

Queensland’s high rate of exports and rising prices have heightened concerns among east coast gas buyers that domestic prices are expected to follow even higher overseas prices, making fuel unaffordable for some manufacturers.

After being disappointed that recent policy decisions have done little to address the immediate affordability of East Coast gas, industrial buyers were again frustrated last week when a voluntary code of conduct was expected long ago was finalized by gas producers, but did not include the assurances on the prices they were looking for.

The code “will not address the central concerns of gas users, which are linked to the price-induced loss of competitiveness which threatens the future of many facilities and the associated jobs and investments,” the buyers said, represented by Ai Group, Chemistry Australia, Energy Users Association Australia and Manufacturing Australia.

Andrew McConville, Head of Australian Oil Production & The Exploration Association, which led the gas production industry’s drafting of the code, said the “vast majority” of customer requests have been met. He said the industry was working within the federal government’s parameters for the code, “which included that the code should not regulate prices or contain anti-competitive provisions.”

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