Australia has secured its biggest ever resources deal by signing a $50 billion agreement to supply liquefied natural gas to China.
The gas will come from the Gorgon development off the West Australian coast and comes a week after a $25 billion deal to supply gas to India, also from Gorgon.
The $50 billion Gorgon LNG project will be the biggest single investment ever made in Australia, breaking the record set only a few years ago by the $12 billion Pluto LNG project now under construction in Western Australia.
Minister for Resources and Energy Martin Ferguson said the unprecedented export deal confirmed Australia's importance as a global energy superpower.
"The $50 billion Gorgon LNG project will be the biggest single investment ever made in Australia, breaking the record set only a few years ago by the $12 billion Pluto LNG project now under construction in Western Australia," Mr Ferguson said in Beijing.
"We are a country built on foreign investment and we continue to welcome investments that develop our resources for the benefit of all Australians," he said.
The deal, between Gorgon partner ExxonMobil and Chinese energy giant PetroChina, will contribute to the 6,000 jobs expected to be created at the peak of the Gorgon project.
"PetroChina is an increasingly important partner in the Australian LNG industry and I hope the relationship will be long and successful,'' Mr Ferguson said.
Mr Ferguson said the Gorgon project would provide a significant boost to Australia's export income with contracts to sell around $300 billion worth of LNG to customers in the Asia-Pacific over the next 20 years.