PERTH (miningweekly.com) – New data by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has confirmed that strong liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports played a key role in driving Australia’s economic growth of 1.1% in the December 2016 quarter, the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (Appea) has said.

The ABS on Wednesday reported that growth was recorded in 15 out of 20 industries, with the strongest growth observed in mining, agriculture, forestry and fishing, and professional scientific and technical services, with each of these industries having contributed 0.2 percentage points to gross domestic product (GDP) growth.

The terms of trade grew by 9.1% in the December quarter due to strong price rises in coal and iron-ore, with the ABS pointing out that the terms of trade had been 15.6% higher than in the December 2015 quarter.

Nominal GDP grew by 3% to be 6.1% higher for the year.

Appea said on Wednesday that oil and gas extraction rose by 4.4% over the December quarter, following a record A$18-billion in LNG exports in 2016.

CEO Dr Malcolm Roberts said Australia’s LNG projects would deliver decades of economic growth, jobs and exports.

“In 2015/16, Australia’s seven LNG projects produced about 37-million tonnes of LNG. They are forecast to produce around 52-million tonnes in 2016/17, worth around A$24-billion, and 67-million tonnes in 2017/18, worth around A$37-billion,” Roberts said.

“When these projects and the three projects currently under construction reach full output, Australia’s LNG exports will have almost tripled over the space of just five years.

“By 2019, Australia will be the largest single exporter of LNG in the world.

“For LNG to continue to be a pillar of the nation’s economy amid challenging market conditions, exploration and development must be fostered, not restricted.”

Roberts said capturing future growth and investment opportunities should be a key aim for both major political parties during 2017.

“We need to hear much more from our political leaders about how they intend to encourage resource investment, increase competitiveness and build on a decade of extraordinary LNG investment and achievement,” he said.