Liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from the Gladstone port in Australia’s Queensland were 1.3 percent lower in 2025 compared to the year before, according to the shipment data by Gladstone Ports Corporation.
Approximately 23.71 million tonnes of LNG or 368 cargoes left the three Gladstone terminals on Curtis Island in 2025, GPC’s data shows.
This compares to 24.04 million tonnes of LNG or 364 cargoes in 2024, 22.97 million tonnes of LNG or 350 cargoes in 2023, and 22.64 million tonnes of LNG or 354 cargoes in 2022.
Also, in December 2025, Gladstone LNG exports reached 2.13 million tonnes of LNG or 33 cargoes.
This represents a slight decrease relative to 2.19 million tonnes of LNG, or 33 cargoes, in December 2024.
Curtis Island hosts the Santos-operated GLNG plant, the ConocoPhillips-led APLNG terminal, and Shell’s QCLNG facility.
These are the only LNG export facilities on Australia’s east coast.
China volumes down
Most of LNG exports in 2025 landed in China (13.4 million tonnes), a 6.5 percent drop from 14.3 million tonnes in the previous year.
Moreover, Gladstone LNG exports to South Korea rose to 4.43 million tonnes from 3.97 million tonnes in 2024, while Malaysian volumes dropped to 2.29 million tonnes from 2.57 million tonnes in the year before.
Volumes to Japan increased to 1.77 million tonnes from 1.45 million tonnes and volumes to Singapore rose to 1.21 million tonnes from 893,147 tonnes.
Thailand, India, and the Philippines took 406,470 tonnes, 115,294 tonnes, and 70,587 tonnes, respectively.
Volumes to Thailand were similar compared to 415,925 tonnes in 2024, while volumes to the Philippines were lower compared to 399,578 tonnes in 2024.
It is worth noting that the three LNG exporters on Curtis Island near Gladstone will be required to reserve up to 25 percent of their gas production for domestic supply, starting in 2027, under a new scheme announced by the Australian government last month.
