CANBERRA: Australia’s liquefied natural gas export boom has prevented a further $500 million blowout in the trade deficit and helped almost cancel out Australia’s petroleum import bill in December for the first time in five years, according to consultancy EnergyQuest.
Despite the slump in LNG prices, higher volumes of exports – thanks to the start-up of new projects – saw the country’s petroleum deficit slashed to just $4 million in December 2015, from 45 times as much 12 months earlier, the firm has calculated.
Imports of crude oil and fuels such as petrol and diesel typically weigh heavily on the country’s balance of payments, petroleum products and crude oil accounting for the country’s third and fourth-biggest imports. But the December 2015 shortfall was the smallest since August 2010.
