Liquefied natural gas exports from Australia were up in November with shipments reaching 81 mtpa on an annualized basis, the energy consultancy, EnergyQuest notes.

During the month of November Australia’s LNG exports reached 6.6 million tons, totaling 98 cargoes, compared to 6.4 million tons from 95 cargoes in October.

These volumes have pushed Australia above Qatar as the world’s largest exporter during the month of November.

According to EnergyQuest, China has also surpassed Japan as the world’s largest importer of the chilled fuel with 49 percent of the country’s imports coming from Australia.

East coast LNG shipments increased to 1,939 kt in November (1,766 kt in October), with 29 cargoes in November compared to 26 in October. This is the highest monthly export volume since December 2017, and the second highest volume since exports began in January 2015.

East coast exports do appear to peak towards the end of the year, coinciding with higher Asian spot prices, EnergyQuest said.