Inpex, Japan’s largest E&P company, has been awarded an exploration permit for Release Area WA-532-P in Australia’s 2016 Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release.
The block was awarded to Inpex’s subsidiary, Inpex Browse, which will hold a 100% participating interest in it and pursue exploration activities as the operator, Inpex said on Thursday.
Block WA-532-P is located off the coast of Western Australia and covers an area of 26,300km2 where the water is approximately 60~250m deep.
The block lies in the vicinity of the Ichthys gas-condensate field where Inpex is developing the Ichthys LNG Project as the operator. In the vicinity of the block, promising gas fields have been discovered and are being developed at multiple blocks in which Inpex holds equity interests, the company noted.
It is expected that the block is also located in a promising exploration area with a high potential for gas, condensate and oil accumulations, Inpex added.
With the awarding of this exploration permit, the total number of exploration blocks held by Inpex Group companies including Inpex Browse in the vicinity of the Ichthys gas-condensate field increases to 18.
Inpex’s exploration activities in the vicinity of the Ichthys Gas-condensate field are aligned to the company’s policy of seeking to expand the future value of the Ichthys LNG Project, the company explained.