PERTH (miningweekly.com) – A new report by the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources has highlighted Australia’s comparative liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade and investment advantages out to 2050.

LNG demand is forecast to more than double over the coming decades, to more than 800-million tonnes by 2050, with Asian markets to drive the increased demand, specifically China, India, Indonesia and Bangladesh.

The report noted that at the end of 2020, global LNG export capacity was 450-million tonnes a year, with projects already approved and under construction expected to contribute 125-million tonnes a year to global capacity by mid-2030.

In 2020/21, LNG was Australia’s third-largest commodity export by value. Australia exported 77.7-million tonnes of LNG in 2020/21 with a value of A$30.5-billion, and the sector also directly employed 22 900 Australians in November 2021.

The report pointed out that Australia’s competitors have announced regular large investment decisions over the past decade, but that Australia had not.

“More than A$200-billion of LNG projects were approved for final investment decisions (FIDs) in Australia before 2012. Since then, Woodside’s Scarborough project is the only LNG capacity project to reach FID. Without further investment in new LNG trains and upstream infrastructure, Australia may lose its position as a major LNG exporter,” the report warned.

Minister for Resources and Water Keith Pitt said the Australian government is committed to delivering the strongest and most business-friendly investment environment for the Australian resources sector. 

“Australia offers a strong, stable and transparent regulatory environment as well as research and development incentives to support innovation. Our proximity to Asia and high-quality resources have seen us become the supplier of choice in global supply chains.

“We will seek to consolidate and strengthen this position in the decades to come.” 

Pitt said the report found that Australia, one of the world’s largest LNG suppliers, is a secure and competitive destination for developing LNG projects.

“Investors can have confidence in Australia’s stable regulatory settings when making long-term investments,” Pitt said.

The report identifies India and Bangladesh as major emerging LNG markets for Australia, and Pitt pointed out that the government was backing the LNG trade and investment potential between Australia, India and Bangladesh through a new South Asian LNG Partnership. 

Australia will invest A$11.3-million over 10 years in the partnership, which will build relationships across the LNG supply chain between participating countries.