Ichthys LNG on schedule for March 2018 kick off

Japan’s Inpex remains on track to start production at its Ichthys liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Australia at the end of March next year. 

Speaking to reporters, the company’s senior managing executive officer, Masahiro Murayama said that peak production will be reached over the period of two years, following the start of production, Reuters reports.

Murayama said that the full-scale production would be achieved through a gradual increase in utilization rates through testing.

The Ichthys LNG project is expected to produce up to 8.9 million tons of LNG per annum and 1.65 million tons of LPG per annum, along with approximately 100,000 barrels of condensate per day at peak.

The project’s two offshore facilities, the central processing facility, Ichthys Explorer and the floating production, storage and offloading facility (FPSO), Ichthys Venturer, have been moored at their respective locations in the Ichthys field, 220 kilometers off the north coast of Western Australia.

Initially, the project was set for start-up in the third quarter of this year, however, earlier this year the company revised its plans and said that the production from the Ichthys LNG project will start before the end of the current fiscal year, ending March 31, 2018, following the installation and commissioning of the CPF and the FPSO.

Despite the delays, Inpex expects minimal cost overruns without any material impact on the project.

The project is a joint venture between Inpex, major partner Total, Taiwan’s CPC Corporation and the Australian subsidiaries of Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas, Kansai Electric, Chubu Electric Power and Toho Gas.

LNG World News Staff