The Inpex Corp.-led joint venture’s first cargo of LNG from the Ichthys project has been shipped from the onshore gas liquefaction plant in Darwin, Northern Territory.
Inpex said the Pacific Breeze LNG carrier sailed from the terminal late on Oct. 22 bound for the Inpex-operated Naoetsu LNG receiving terminal in the Niigata Prefecture in Japan where it is expected to arrive by midweek next week.
Inpex Australia Pres. Director Seiya Ito said the first cargo from Ichthys was an historic moment for the company and for Australia.
The $34-billion project will have a 40-year operating life and deliver benefits to the Australian economy and community for decades to come, Ito said.
The project will gradually increase its production to about 8.9 million tonnes/year of LNG when it reaches the production plateau—a figure equivalent to more than 10% of Japan’s annual LNG import volume.
About 70% of the LNG produced by Ichthys LNG is scheduled to be supplied to Japan.
The first LNG cargo follows shipment of the first condensate direct from the field production facilities offshore Western Australia earlier this month. Shipments of LPG are scheduled to begin before yearend.
Along with production of 8.9 million tpy of LNG, the project also will produce as much as 1.65 million tpy of LPG and as much as 100,000 b/d of condensate.
Inpex has 62.245% and operatorship of the Ichthys project. Other partners include Total SA with 30%, CPC Corp. Taiwan 2.625%, Tokyo Gas 1.575%, Chubu Electric Power 0.735%, and Toho Gas 0.42%.
