Regional LNG: Australia lobbies S. Korea for LNG contract

The future of Australia's North West Shelf would be effectively assured if it could snatch at least one of three huge LNG contracts on offer from South Korea, Trade Minister Mark Vaile said Thursday as reported by The Australian.

Vaile, who held a meeting with Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong in the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Santiago, said he had reinforced the government's support for the liquefied natural gas (LNG) bid.

Korea is expected to decide by early next year on three huge LNG contracts that would be worth around A$25 billion.

The best firms are expected to get from the contract is two of the three contracts on offer, so large is the demand and the efforts by Korea to safeguard its energy supplies.

Vaile said the contracts would be a huge boost to the North West Shelf and the resource industry in that part of Western Australia.

"This is a significant long term supply contract that is of great importance to the Australian liquid natural gas industry, and in particular the North West Shelf," he told reporters.

"It would underpin development of the fifth train at Karratha and establish what is one of the largest LNG projects in the world."

Vaile described his discussions with his Korean counterpart as very good.

"I wanted to enforce to the Korean minister the absolute support that the Australian government has given to the Australian bid to supply LNG to Korea," he said.(*)