INPEX Corporation is Japan's largest oil and gas exploration and production company. The INPEX-led US$34 billion Ichthys LNG project represents the largest overseas investment by a Japanese company.
The Ichthys LNG project will contribute to Australia becoming the world’s leading exporter of LNG.
Located about 220 kilometres offshore Western Australia, the giant, gas-condensate–rich Ichthys field is estimated to contain more than 12 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas and 500 million tonnes of condensate. This represents the largest discovery of hydrocarbon liquids in Australia in nearly 50 years.
The Ichthys LNG project is one of the most exciting and challenging projects developed in Australia and has captured the imagination of the oil and gas industry. With an operational life of at least 40 years, the Ichthys project is expected to produce up to 8.9 million tonnes of LNG and 1.6 million tonnes of LPG per annum, along with more than 100,000 barrels of condensate per day, at peak.
The Ichthys project requires some of the world’s biggest and most advanced facilities to be constructed. Two facilities will be permanently moored offshore —the Central Processing Facility, which is being developed on the world’s largest semi-submersible platform, as well as one of the largest and most advanced floating production, storage and offloading facilities. An 890-kilometre subsea pipeline will unite the offshore facilities with a massive, state-of-the-art onshore processing plant near Darwin in the Northern Territory.
The Ichthys project makes a significant contribution to the sustainable economic development of Australia, the Northern Territory and Western Australian economies in particular. Significantly, the project continues to support the development of Darwin as the gateway to Asia for Australian industry, and concluded Australia’s first long-term LNG sales and purchase agreement with Taiwan in 2012.
Beyond its export potential, the project has contributed more than A$16 billion to the Australian economy in the construction phase alone, with more than A$9 billion flowing into the Northern Territory economy as a result of project activity.
The Ichthys Industry Participation Plan supports Australian and local participation, contributing to industry development to grow workforce capability and capacity. More than 1,000 Northern Territory businesses and over 11,000 Darwin locals have secured work supporting the project’s construction phase alone.
A global oil and gas exploration company, INPEX Corporation is currently involved in over 70 projects across more than 20 countries. The company celebrated its 30-year anniversary in Australia earlier this year.