Australia sees opportunity in slumping US gas supply...
The United States could become Australia's largest LNG importer, with exports potentially being worth more than A$50 billion (US$38 billion) over the next 30 years, Austrailian Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane said.
Mr Macfarlane spoke after meeting US Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham ahead of an energy summit in Melbourne.
US Department of Energy research indicated demand for energy would increase ten-fold by 2010, and the US would import more than 40 million tonnes of LNG each year, he said.
This presented an enormous opportunity for Australia to dramatically boost its export of LNG to the US, particularly to California.
"Current exports of LNG out of Australia are around eight to 10 million tonnes per annum, worth about A$2.5 billion per annum," Mr Macfarlane told reporters. "There is potential for us to in fact be exporting more LNG to the US than we are in total at the moment'.
