Australia exported 75.1 million tonnes of LNG in 2018/19, 21.2 per cent more than the previous year, according to figures from EnergyQuest.

The energy advisory firm expects Australian output to hit about 80Mt in 2019/20 – seeing it overtake Qatar, which is currently has the world’s top nameplate capacity.

With total export revenue estimated to be $50.5 billion in 2018/19, LNG is now Australia’s third largest export by value after iron ore and coal.

EnergyQuest reported that most of the growth in production last financial year occurred from projects in Western Australia and the Northern Territory, notably INPEX’s Ichthys project and Chevron’s Wheatstone project.

Queensland exports increased slightly, from 20.5Mt in 2017/18 to 21.8 Mt in 2018/19.

The Queensland LNG projects produced an estimated 43 PJ in excess of export demand.