Political tensions across the globe provided commodity markets cause for concern throughout 2018, but this was not enough to offset a bumper year for the Western Australian resources industry.
Western Australia’s mineral and petroleum industry experienced record sales of $127.4 billion in 2018, according to new statistics by the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety.
This eclipsed the previous calendar year record value of $116 billion set in 2013 and was greater than the financial year record of $123 billion set in 2013-14.
The bulk of the almost $18 billion year-on-year increase was attributed to higher liquefied natural gas (LNG) volumes and prices.
Below are Western Australia’s 2018 petroleum sector highlights:
- The petroleum sector (comprising crude oil, condensate, LNG, natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas), accounted for 28 per cent of the total value of WA’s mineral and petroleum sales in 2018.
- The sector was valued at a record $35.3 billion in 2018, an increase of 63 per cent from $21.7 billion in 2017.
- LNG remains WA’s most valuable petroleum product, accounting for more than 21 per cent of all mineral and petroleum sales in 2018.
- The volume of LNG produced in WA increased 79 per cent during the five years to 2017 and a further 34 per cent in 2018. This follows the start-up of several new LNG projects over the period marking the last of this wave of ‘mega’ LNG investment projects to reach production.
- Increased condensate production (up 34 per cent to 8.4 gigalitres) and higher prices received by WA producers, contributed to a 77 per cent increase in the value of condensate sales from $2.6 billion in 2017 to $4.5 billion in 2018.
The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety’s Mineral and Petroleum Commodity Review 2018 can be found here.
