Inpex Refinances Share of Oz Ichthys Project

Japan's Inpex said on June 16 it had concluded a loan refinancing agreement covering a share of funding for the Ichthys LNG project in Australia.

The company launched a bid to refinance some of project funding in March, with the aim of securing better borrowing conditions. The deal, arranged with seven export credit agencies and 28 commercial banks, covers $8.3bn of the $15.6bn in outstanding loans taken out for the project.

The 8.9mn mt/yr Ichthys LNG started up in October 2018 and reached financial completion in December 2019. Inpex serves as operator with a 62.25% stake, while France's Total has 26%. Other shareholders include the off-takers CPC Corp Taiwan (2.63%), Tokyo Gas (1.58%), Osaka Gas (1.2%), Kansai Electric Power (1.2%), Jera (0.74%) and Toho Gas (0.42%).

The refinancing deal comes as Inpex looks to cut costs in the wake of the collapse in oil and gas prices.