The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) has released an update of its Australian Gas and LNG Tracker, an interactive data visualisation tool that tracks Australia’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry and trade.
The Tracker allows users to explore Australia’s gas production alongside LNG export demand and flows.
It draws on data from a range of authoritative sources, including Kpler and the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), combined with IEEFA’s own analysis.
The updated data shows Australia continuing to export large volumes of LNG, with export volumes edging higher over the past year even as domestic gas consumption declined.
That combination meant LNG exporters accounted for a larger share of the nation’s total gas production than in previous periods.
The trend was mirrored globally. Worldwide LNG supply rose year on year in the first half of 2026, driven largely by surging output from the United States, despite a drop in exports from Qatar linked to the war involving Iran.
Demand patterns in Asia told a different story. Asian LNG imports fell year on year in the first half of 2026, remaining below the peak recorded in the first half of 2024.
The decline was driven chiefly by a substantial fall in imports into China, which offset growth elsewhere in the region.
Domestically, the Tracker highlights a longstanding assumption about the eastern Australian gas market.
Victoria continues to export more gas to other states on a net basis than Queensland, despite Queensland’s LNG export terminals and its reputation as the engine room of the east coast market.
In fact, Queensland’s net supply to other states was virtually zero across the 2025-26 financial year, with volumes sent out during the cooler winter months effectively cancelled out by imports over summer.
Joshua Runciman, IEEFA’s Lead Analyst for Australian Gas, said the figures illustrate how global markets absorbed the shock of the Iran war without major disruption to supply.
“The latest Tracker data shows that global LNG markets have managed the impact of the Iran war through increased US LNG supply and much lower demand from China,” said Runciman.
He noted that the same forces reshaping global trade were also evident at home, with LNG exporters drawing on a growing share of Australian production while domestic users consumed less gas overall.
Runciman also pointed to the data on Queensland’s contribution to interstate gas flows, challenging a common narrative about the state’s role in the national market.
“Despite oft-cited arguments that Queensland does the heavy lifting to supply Australia’s east coast gas market, Queensland’s net supply to other states over FY2025-26 was virtually zero,” he said.
The updated Australian Gas and LNG Tracker is intended to give policymakers, industry analysts and the public a clearer, evidence-based picture of how Australia’s gas resources are produced, consumed and traded, both domestically and on international markets, as debates continue over the future direction of the country’s gas and LNG sectors.
