Australia to restart Darwin LNG exports two years after shutdown

Over the past two years, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier has loaded cargo for the first time at Santos Limited's Darwin terminal. Despite criticism of its climate policy record, the Australian government is solidifying its position as a key exporter of this energy source. According to Santos' quarterly production report released on Thursday, the cargo is being loaded at the Darwin LNG facility for delivery to Japan's Sakai terminal. The facility had been idle since the depletion of its Bayu-Undan gas field at the end of 2023, but was restarted last September following successful production at Santos' new Barossa gas field. This restart will increase Australia's LNG export capacity, which has been declining since the closure of the Bayu-Undan field. Australia lost its top LNG exporter status in 2022 to the United States, and last year Qatar surpassed its export volume, further lowering Australia's ranking. Australia has been taking numerous actions recently to expand its LNG exports, including approving Woodside Energy Group Limited's North West Shelf gas development project to operate until 2070.