Japan’s Inpex said it has postponed production start-up at its $34 billion Ichthys LNG project in Australia until the third quarter of 2017, from the end of 2016.
Inpex also said it will raise the project’s annual LNG production capacity by approximately 6% to 8.9 MTPA from the initially planned 8.4 MTPA.
While the project’s overall development was approximately 74% complete as of June, Inpex updated the production start schedule based on the findings of a detailed review of the project’s development schedule, the Japanese company said in a statement issued on Friday.
Inpex expects that the revised production start-up schedule and other factors will increase the project’s investment. However, the increase is expected to be limited to approximately 10%, according to the statement.
The company plans to cover the costs of the giant LNG project through its own funds as well as external loans.
The Ichthys project is a joint venture between Inpex, major partner Total, CPC Corporation and the Australian subsidiaries of Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas, Kansai Electric, Chubu Electric Power and Toho Gas.
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LNG World News Staff; Image: Inpex