While prices remain relatively robust by historical standards,analysts are suggesting that record prices fetched during the December quarter of 2022 would be “as good as it gets for Australia’s LNG industry”.
“This has played out with falling prices and revenues in the first quarter of 2023,” said Rick Wilkinson,head of Australian energy consultancy EnergyQuest.
S&P Global Platts’ Japan-Korea Marker – the benchmark for spot LNG in North Asia,where the bulk of one-off Australian gas shipments are sold – fell 33 per cent from the December quarter to an average of $US26 ($39) in the three months to March,and is now trading below $US11 per million British thermal units.
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The sliding prices drove Australia’s LNG export revenue lower,even as producers of the super-chilled fuel delivered a record opening quarter for production volumes.
Australian gas giants Woodside and Santos,which made more money in 2022 than in any year in their history,have reported first-quarter revenue falls of 16 per cent and 13 per cent respectively.
In a new report,EnergyQuest calculates that Australia’s overall first-quarter LNG revenue was $22.6 billion – down 20 per cent from $27.6 billion in the December quarter,but up from the $17.8 billion compared with the first quarter of 2022.