Inpex begins first LPG shipment from Ichthys project

Inpex has commenced the first shipment of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from the Ichthys LNG project’s onshore gas liquefaction plant in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.

Undertaken by LPG carrier ‘Hellas Gladiator’, the shipment will be delivered to an unnamed buyer in Asia, as Inpex aims to meet the energy demand in Japan, Asia and other parts of the world.

The development comes after the company began shipment of condensate and liquefied natural gas (LNG) last month. The LNG cargo is destined to the Naoetsu LNG terminal in Niigata Prefecture, Japan.

Inpex aims to increase output at the Ichthys LNG project to 8.9 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of LNG, 1.65Mtpa of LPG, and 100,000 barrels of condensate a day. Production began in July.

The floating production storage and offloading unit (FPSO) and the central processing facility at the field are expected to operate for 40 years.

The project involves offshore production facilities off the coast of Western Australia and a subsea pipeline that transports gas to the onshore liquefaction plant.

Inpex operates the project with a 62.245% interest. Other participants in the project include Total (30%) and Australian subsidiaries of CPC Taiwan (2.625%), as well as Tokyo Gas (1.575%), Osaka Gas (1.2%), Kansai Electric Power (1.2%), JERA (0.735%) and Toho Gas (0.42%).

Citing unnamed trade sources, S&P Global Platts reported that the production from the project will be used to meet growing demand from China and Indonesia.

China is reducing imports from the US due to the ongoing trade tariff war.

Last March, Inpex agreed in principle to supply LPG produced from the Ichthys project to Japanese trader Astomos Energy.