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Big risks, but big balance sheets, for Australian LNG
11 April 2011
Australia is poised to become a major player in global liquefied natural gas markets, with at least four major projects close to market. But liquid sponsors and challenging technologies point to limited pickings for project lenders. By Antony Collins.
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Australia only began exporting gas in 1989, but the country’s gas export rate has gone from zero to 50% in 20 years and LNG is the major factor in this. As of April 2011, two Australian LNG projects accounted for these exports.
Australia’s two LNG projects exported 19.6 million tonnes per year (tpy) of LNG in 2009/10, according to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES). This made the country the world’s fourth-largest LNG exporter, behind Qatar, Malaysia and Indonesia, and it is now poised to strengthen its standing.
“The Australian LNG market is booming,” claims Alex Cull, a partner at Norton Rose in Perth. “There are more than 20 additional LNG projects at varying stages, from conceptual design through to approaching first gas. While some consolidation and attrition is likely, it is clear there is a big appetite for new LNG schemes.”
The combined value of the proposed...
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