???? 據油價網3月2日新聞消息稱，澳大利亞液化天然氣運營商今年將批準價值超過100億美元的天然氣鉆探和液化天然氣填充項目，以在充滿活力的全球市場中保持競爭力。

????澳大利亞液化天然氣(LNG)開發商今年有望大幅增加對重大新項目的投資，擺脫2020年的困境。繼去年削減資本支出和推遲天然氣項目批準后，澳大利亞的液化天然氣運營商今年將批準價值超過100億美元的天然氣鉆探和液化天然氣填充項目。

????新的項目將幫助澳大利亞繼續與卡塔爾和美國競爭世界三大液化天然氣供應國。

????目前，澳大利亞的年生產能力為8800萬噸，居世界第一。

????卡塔爾上月批準了全球產能最大的液化天然氣項目—北油田東部項目(NFE)，計劃將卡塔爾的液化天然氣產能從7700萬噸/年提高至1.1億噸/年。因此，雷斯塔能源表示，隨著澳大利亞競爭對手的生產商開始提供新的液化產能，澳大利亞將在未來10年被卡塔爾和美國超越。

????據澳大利亞能源咨詢公司EnergyQuest估計，盡管高更、惠特斯通和Prelude項目中斷，且2020年初新冠病毒相關的需求遭到破壞，但去年澳大利亞2020年出口了創紀錄的7800萬噸液化天然氣，高于2019年的7750萬噸。

????因此，據估計，澳大利亞去年的液化天然氣出口已經超過了卡塔爾的產能，使澳大利亞成為全球最大的液化天然氣供應國。

????展望未來，卡塔爾到2025年的產能大幅增長將超過澳大利亞，但澳大利亞液化天然氣運營商對其項目的未來前景變得樂觀，并計劃在今年批準大型開發項目并增加投資。他們相信全球液化天然氣需求—尤其是亞洲的需求—將在未來幾年繼續飆升，原因可能是能源轉型。

????朱佳妮 摘譯自 油價網

????原文如下：

????Australia Boosts LNG Spending To Compete With Qatar

????Australia’s LNG operators are set to approve gas drilling and LNG infill projects worth more than US$10 billion this year in a bid to stay competitive in a very dynamic global marketplace

????Australian liquefied natural gas (LNG) developers look ready to shrug off a difficult 2020 by significantly boosting spending on major new projects this year. Following slashed capital expenditure and deferred gas project sanctioning last year, Australia’s LNG operators are set to approve gas drilling and LNG infill projects worth more than US$10 billion this year.

????New projects are set to help Australia to continue competing with Qatar and the United States to be among the world’s top three LNG suppliers.

????Currently, Australia’s nameplate operating capacity of 88 million tons per annum (mmtpa) is the world’s largest.

????This is set to change this decade, after Qatar approved last month the world’s largest LNG project in terms of capacity, North Field East Project (NFE), set to raise Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 77 mmtpa to 110 mmtpa. So Australia will be surpassed by Qatar and the U.S. in the coming decade as new liquefaction capacity is commissioned in Australia’s rival producers, Rystad Energy says.

????Last year, Australia exported a record 78.0 Mt of LNG in 2020, up from 77.5 Mt in 2019, despite disruptions at the Gorgon, Wheatstone, and Prelude projects and despite the COVID-19-related destruction of demand in early 2020, Australian energy advisory firm EnergyQuest estimates.

????So Australia’s exports last year are estimated to have surpassed Qatar’s production capacity to make Australia the world’s top LNG supplier.

????Going forward, the massive increase of Qatar’s capacity through 2025 is set to eclipse Australia’s, but Australian LNG operators have turned optimistic about the future prospects of their projects and plan to sanction large developments and boost investments this year. They believe that global LNG demand—especially demand in Asia—will continue to soar in the coming years despite, or probably because of, the energy transition.