Australia's Gladstone LNG loadings fall in December

Exports of LNG from Gladstone harbour on Australia's east coast were 15pc lower on the year in December 2025, as the port finished 2025 with shipments down on 2024's record loadings.

• Exports of 1.88mn t for December were down from the 2.2mn t shipped in December 2024, data from Gladstone Ports (GPC) show.
• The port shipped 23.46mn t of LNG for 2025, down from 24.04mn t a year earlier, which was a record high for the port.
• China's LNG receipts from GPC facilities fell by 1mn t in 2025 compared with the previous year, likely due to growth in China's domestic gas production and increased pipeline imports.
• About 57pc of Gladstone's LNG exports arrived in China in 2025, down from 60pc a year earlier and a record 72pc in 2019.
• Upstream operator of the 9mn t/yr Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) Origin Energy has reported natural decline at coalbed gas fields, while the Santos-operated 7.8mn t/yr Gladstone LNG reported that LNG output was up by 2pc on the year in January-September 2025.
• A mandated reservation scheme policy, which will force all three Gladstone LNG projects to reserve up to 25pc of gas produced for local markets starting in 2027, has yet to be legislated by Canberra, but will not apply to existing contracted gas, the federal government said.

By Tom Major