According to a Bloomberg report citing Japanese customs data, Australian LNG shipments jumped 20% to 12.2 million tonnes (MMt) in 2006, while cargoes from Malaysia totalled 12MMt, a drop of 12% from a year prior.

Indonesia’s ranking as its No. 1 LNG supplier, with 14MMt in 2006, also looks set to change as Japan starts boosting imports from the Darwin LNG project and Russia’s Sakhalin-2 project as a way of diversifying its supplies.

Under a 17-year contract, Tokyo Electric Power is importing 2MMt of LNG per year from Darwin LNG. The North West Shelf Venture makes up the remainder.

Indonesia, which has two LNG plants, has reduced shipments over the past two years, as its fields in Borneo have failed to meet production targets.