Yesterday, the marketing arm of the North West Shelf, Australia LNG, confirmed that it had withdrawn its tender to supply 1.7 million tonnes of LNG over 25 years to the Taiwan Power Company.

Australian LNG officials said the tender process was flawed and involves risks that the world's LNG suppliers are simply not prepared to take. One such risk involves building a receival terminal on reclaimed land from Taiwan's coastal regions, which is opposed by many in the nation of 20 million people.

It is expected that Australia LNG will now focus on supplying private LNG contracts in Taiwan as well as building on its successful $25 billion China LNG deal announced earlier this year.