Gladstone LNG shipments hold steady in February

February exports from the three LNG plants at Australia's Gladstone port in Queensland fell by 10pc following firm January volumes but were up by 5pc on a year earlier.

The fall compared with January is in line with that expected for the shorter month of February. It implies that shipments were still relatively firm in February, particularly given that the wet season cut shipments of coal from the same port in February.

Exports from the LNG plants were 1.74mn t in February compared with 1.93mn t in January and 1.65mn t a year earlier. Shipments to China rose by 28pc compared with a year earlier to 1.24mn t but were down 10pc on January, according to data from Gladstone ports authority GPC.

Shipments to Japan in February from Gladstone fell by 55pc compared with a year earlier to 142,600t and were down by 27pc on January. Shipments to South Korea were down by 19pc on the previous year to 294,800t but this was 30pc higher than in January.

LNG exports from Gladstone last month equate to an annualised rate of 22.64mn t, or a utilisation rate of 89.5pc of the combined capacity of 25.3mn t. This is in line with a utilisation rate of 89.6pc in January.

The 7.8mn t/yr Gladstone LNG (GLNG) plant, which is operated by Australian independent Santos, said it will be operating well below nameplate capacity for the foreseeable future. It has targeted reaching 6mn t/yr by the end of next year and is currently operating below a 75pc utilisation rate.

The 9mn t/yr Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) venture also operated below nameplate capacity in the second half of last year.

China has been the largest buyer of cargoes from Gladstone since shipments started in 2014. Chinese state-controlled firms have the largest share of sales and purchase agreements (SPAs) with all the projects at Gladstone, the only LNG export facility on Australia's east coast.

Japanese utility Kansai Electric Power has a 1mn t/yr deal with APLNG, the only Gladstone SPA involving a Japanese firm. South Korean state-owned gas company Kogas has a 3.5mn t/yr SPA with GLNG in which it owns a 15pc stake.