Australia's Gladstone LNG exports to Japan plummet

Exports of LNG to Japan from the east coast of Australia crashed to a 17-month low in September, while volumes to China edged higher to a new record high, according to data from the Gladstone Ports Corp (GPC) on October 6.

Japan received just 60,539 metric tons of LNG in September from the Port of Gladstone in Queensland; down 82% both year on year and month on month. It is the smallest monthly total since April last year, GPC data shows.

The Australian government said in its Resources and Energy Quarterly report on October 6 that “the recent restart of idle nuclear power generation capacity – which competes with gas-fired power – is expected to weigh on LNG imports from mid-2017.”

The report said also that the timing and scale of further reactor restarts are a key uncertainty for Japanese LNG import forecasts, while LNG also faces increasing competition from renewable energy.

It added that Japan’s total LNG imports rose by 5.5% year on year in the first seven months of 2017, with gas demand supported by a hot summer and increased consumption in the industrial sector. Despite this, the country’s imports are forecast to increase by just 3.1% in 2017 to 88mn mt, and in 2019 are expected to fall further, to 84mn mt.

According to GPC data, LNG exports from Gladstone to Japan are up by 23% year on year for January-September, from 1.66 million mt to 2.05 million mt.

All of Australia’s east coast LNG exports come through the Port of Gladstone, which is home to the Australia Pacific, Gladstone and Queensland Curtis LNG terminals.

Meanwhile, LNG exports from Gladstone to China were at a record high of 1.13mn mt in September, a 1% bump up from the previous record set in August and a rise of 71% year on year.

For the first seven months of 2017 China’s total LNG imports rose by 60% year on year, as natural gas consumption is being supported by a combination of strong economic growth and energy policy targets, the Australian government said in its report.

“LNG is expected to play an important role in servicing rising gas demand,” it said, adding that “China’s LNG imports are forecast to virtually double from 23 million tonnes in 2016 to 45 million tonnes in 2019.”

LNG exports through Gladstone to China rose 50% year on year in the January-September period, to 7.98mn mt, according to GPC data.

South Korea and Malaysia were the only other countries to receive LNG from Gladstone in September.

September’s export volumes to South Korea stood at 426,810 mt, up 37% year on year and 268% month on month, while exports to Malaysia that month reached 64,060 mt, up 2% both year on year and month on month, according to GPC data.

Total LNG exports from Gladstone were 1.68mn mt in September, up 8% year on year and 3% month on month, it said. 

Nathan Richardson