Ichthys LNG Delayed Again

The Ichthys LNG project, operated by Japan's Inpex, is now expected to start operations much later than previously expected.

The Japanese company said April 28 that the Australian project start up could start producing by March 2018, a delay of almost six months. It was originally due to have started up at the end of last year.

Inpex said that “the Ichthys LNG project will, during the current fiscal year (ending March 31, 2018), begin production of condensate, LNG and LPG in sequence and then ship these products.” Ichthys LNG project joint venture partners are Inpex, Total, Taiwan's CPC Corporation, and Japanese utilities Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas, Kansai Electric Power, Chubu Electric Power and Toho Gas.

Ichthys onshore facilities (Credit: Inpex)

The company also informed that Ichthys Explorer, the world's largest semi-submersible platform, which will form the project’s central processing facility (CPF), sailed away from its construction site in Geoje, South Korea en route to the Ichthys field offshore Western Australia, following the completion of shipyard commissioning and preparation work.

Ichthys Explorer will be towed to the Ichthys field over a period of approximately one and a half months, after which it is scheduled to undergo hook-up. The facility will then separate and process the produce lifted from subsea production wells into gases and liquids over 40 years of continuous operation.

Ichthys Venturer, the project’s floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility, is also scheduled to be towed to the Ichthys field and undergo hook-up. Inpex and its partners will also continue to proceed with construction work on the onshore natural gas liquefaction plant outside Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory.

The project has seen cost blow-out and start up dates has been extended multiple times and was supposed to have started up at the end of 2016 and was then postponed to July-September 2017.  

Shardul Sharma