Sydney Morning Herald: Inpex Corporation chief sees big future for LNG mega-project

The head of Inpex Corporation, Japan's biggest investor in Australia, has shrugged off the gloom pervading oil and gas markets to declare that the $US37 billion Ichthys liquefied natural gas venture in northern Australia will prove to be a valuable investment with attractive opportunities for expansion.

In an exclusive and rare interview, president and chief executive Toshiaki Kitamura has emphasised the "robust" economics of the huge project even at current depressed oil prices. The long-term strategic value of expanding the LNG project near Darwin "remains unchanged", he said.

Ichthys LNG, Japan's largest single investment in Australia, is more than 80 per cent built, with production from the 8.9 million tonnes-a-year plant on Darwin Harbour due to commence in the September quarter next year, about nine months later than scheduled. Two enormous pieces of offshore equipment for the project are being built in shipyards in South Korea, where capacity constraints have contributed to the delays. MORE