Qatar continues to hold off rivals from usurping its position as the world’s largest LNG exporter. The latest figures from data intelligence firm Kpler show that the Gulf LNG giant just about edged out Australia over the course of 2020, although the margin was perilously thin.

Australia currently has the largest liquefaction capacity globally, having overtaken Qatar’s 77mn t/y nameplate capacity in 2018, and in terms of export volumes it would likely have overtaken its Middle East rival last year had it not been for the upheaval of the Covid-19 pandemic. Australia may finally overtake Qatar this year, but any triumph will be short-lived given that Qatar is working to expand capacity to 126mn t/y by 2027 and expects first gas from its new trains in 2025 (MEES, 10 April 2020). (CONTINUED - 1306 WORDS)