Inpex settles Ichthys EPC dispute

Japan’s Inpex Corp has withdrawn all claims against the EPC contractors of the Ichthys LNG project in Australia, it said on October 15.

Inpex, through its affiliate Ichthys LNG (ILNG), had in May this year filed a lawsuit against JKC Australia LNG (JKC), a consortium of JGC Corp, KBR and Chiyoda Corp, over a dispute relating to the construction of the Ichthys project. The dispute was regarding amounts payable under the EPC contract between them.

During the construction phase, ILNG and JKC entered into a deed, pursuant to which the former provided interim funding for an amount of A$757.7mn ($561mn) to enable JKC to settle certain claims with its subcontractors. The deed provided that JKC was obliged to repay the entire funding on December 31, 2020. ILNG and JKC were involved in arbitration proceedings over amounts including construction costs.

“Inpex hereby announces that a settlement deed has been concluded between ILNG and JKC, whereby the parties have agreed, amongst other matters, to the withdrawal of all claims between them concerning the EPC contract,” the company said.

This includes the withdrawal of the claim filed against JGC Holdings Corp and JGC Corp, which hold the largest share in JKC, in the Yokohama district court.

Inpex is the operator of the Ichthys LNG export project that is located in the northern part of Australia.