Australia’s LNG exports rose by 2% last month following a worldwide rise in demand for the product.

Gross Australian LNG production increased by 53.2% in the March quarter to 10.1 MMt with the ramp-up of production from Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) and Golar LNG (GLNG) projects in Queensland and the first cargo from the Gorgon project in Western Australia. The country's LNG exports reached 3.8 MMt during the same period, while Russia's LNG exports totaled 2.5 MMt.

“The decline in prices is unlikely to lead to a significant reduction in production from existing producers because the high fixed costs of building the infrastructure have been paid and marginal production costs are relatively low,” said Ms Heath.

Oil Search Ltd. has moved to consolidate natural-gas developments on Papua New Guinea with a US$2.2 billion deal to buy U.S.-listed midsize energy company InterOil Corp amid a growing natural gas glut.

More than $400 billion of proposed energy projects have been delayed since mid-2014 and pushed into 2017 and beyond as oil prices slid about 60 percent in the past two years, according to consulting firm Wood Mackenzie Ltd. The LNG market in particular is facing an oversupply as U.S. exports add to a wave of shipments from Australia.

The first export is a significant milestone for the Gorgon project, which has been hit by delays and a jump in costs since construction started, as it begins generating revenue for Chevron and its partners.