Regional LNG: Australian LNG exports to U.S. may reach A$50 bln: Report

Australian exports of liquefied natural gas to the U.S., the world's biggest energy consumer, could exceed A$50 billion ($38.8 billion), Australian Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane was quoted by Bloomberg as saying

The U.S. has the potential to become Australia's biggest LNG export market, outstripping all the country's existing supply contracts, with sales of more than 10 million metric tons a year, Macfarlane told reporters in Sydney. He will hold talks with U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham tomorrow in Melbourne on the possibility of Australian LNG exports to the U.S.

Demand for gas in the U.S. is outpacing domestic production and companies are seeking to import LNG, which is gas cooled and compressed to liquid form and transported by tanker. U.S. capacity for LNG will grow by 40 percent by 2007, Abraham said in December during a government-sponsored LNG summit attended by ministers from 24 countries, including Australia.

``We may be looking at the supply into the U.S. of tonnages in excess of 10 million tons per annum, which would be worth in excess of A$50 billion,'' Macfarlane said. ``Tomorrow is about laying the groundwork for developing an export potential from Australia which could outstrip nearly all, if not all, of the contracts currently in existence.''(*)