UAE eyes strategic energy partnerships with Australia

Australia is the world's top LNG exporter, accounting for 21.3 per cent of global supply

Australia overtook Qatar as the world's top exporter of the super-chilled fuel in December 2018. Bloomberg

Abu Dhabi is looking to expand co-operation with Australia, the world’s biggest producer of liquefied natural gas, following a visit by the emirate’s Department of Energy to the state of Victoria.

Strategic partnerships, particularly in optimising energy use as well as rationalising consumption would be on the agenda, according to the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy chairman Awaidha Murshed Al Marar.

Australia accounts for 21.3 per cent of global exports of the super-chilled fuel, according to the latest BP Statistical Review of World Energy. Australia overtook Qatar as the world’s top LNG exporter in December 2018. According to BP, supply growth from Australian LNG amounted to 15 billion cubic metres in 2018, outstripping the US and Russia.

Non-oil trade between the UAE and Australia reached $3.3 billion in 2017, a 16 per cent increase over the previous year, according to the UAE’ s Ministry of Economy for Foreign Trade. The two countries have also seen significant pick-up in in other sectors such as air and maritime transport.