Ichthys Project Starts Condensate Exports
Japan’s Inpex said October 1 its Ichthys LNG project, which has overrun budgetary and time targets, has started exporting condensate from the floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility Ichthys Venturer. The first shipment is destined for the Asian market.
Going forward, the project will proceed with the production of LNG at the onshore gas liquefaction plant in Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia and is scheduled to commence the shipment of LNG and LPG in sequence within 3Q2018 (October-December 2018). Japanese fiscal year runs from April to March.
Ichthys LNG project produced first gas in July. The gas production was to commence in May but was delayed thanks to Australian regulator National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (Nopsema) finding safety issues on the offshore platform of the project. The Inpex-operated project was in fact due to have started up 2016 but its development has overrun and its cost has almost certainly topped the original $34bn price tag.
At full capacity, Ichthys's offshore facilities are expected to produce 1.6bn ft3/d gas (285,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day) and 85,000 b/d condensate. The gas will be exported to an 8.9mn mt/yr capacity onshore LNG plant for the Asian market; the plant will also have capacity to produce about 1.65mn mt/yr of LPG and 15,000 b/d condensate.