EnergyQuest has just released its Australian LNG Monthly for May 2020. Some of the highlights are as follows:
- Australian LNG shipments appear to be starting to see the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the global oversupply of LNG. Australian LNG shipments in May were down by eight cargoes compared with April, primarily due to lower cargoes from APLNG and Ichthys.
- In May Australian projects shipped 6.4 million tonnes (Mt) (93 cargoes), lower than 6.9 Mt (101 cargoes) in April. This was the same as the 6.4 Mt (94 cargoes) in May 2019 but during May there has been a marked increase in the number of cargoes that have had their delivery delayed.
- Deliveries to China are still holding up.
- Chinese imports from Australia were 2.8 Mt in April, the highest import levels from Australia on record.
- Imports from Australia were up on a year earlier for both Japan and Korea.
- The Gladstone LNG producers had a production surplus in May, with total production from LNG producers 7.8 PJ more than total LNG exports.
- East coast short-term gas prices were generally lower than those in April and lower than May 2019. Short-term domestic gas prices are still the lowest they have been since 2016.
Information about the EnergyQuest Australian LNG Monthly is available by clicking here