US LNG eyes eastern Australia market

Trans-Pacific shipments might compete to fill the country’s regional supply shortage

Australia could find itself in the unusual position of importing US LNG, despite having recently assumed the mantle of the world's largest LNG exporter. Prices competitive to other Asian markets and broadly similar transport rates could see US LNG supplying eastern Australia's supply-constrained pipeline gas market as early as 2020, say analysts, assuming start-up of any of five floating, storage and regasification unit (FSRU) import projects by then. The project promoters are Australia's AGL Energy and ExxonMobil in Victoria; Melbourne-based Venice Energy in South Australia; and consortium Australian Industrial Energy (AIE) and South Korea-based Epik LNG in New South Wales. The plans offer