Australian liquefied natural gas exports fetched $31 billion during the 2017-2018 period, with 62 million tons exported during the period.

The figures made LNG the country’s third largest resource and energy export, the country’s Department of Industry, Innovation and Science shows in its quarterly report.

Export volumes rose 18 percent over the 2016-2017 volumes the report shows, with prices increasing as the oil prices recovered.

Looking forward, Australia’s LNG export earnings are forecast to increase by 57 percent to $48 billion in 2018–19 and remain around this level in 2019–20.

The continuous rise in oil prices is also expected to bump the prices of Australian LNG for the forecasted period before settling in 2019-2020, according to the report.

Australia’s LNG export volumes are forecast to reach 77 million tonnes in 2019–20, up from 62 million tonnes in 2017–18. Higher export volumes will be driven by the ramp-up of production at Wheatstone, and the completion of the Ichthys and Prelude projects.