INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG Project achieves important financial milestone

Perth, Australia – INPEX announced today that the INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG Project (the Project) has successfully achieved an important milestone with financial completion under its project financing agreements. 

The achievement releases INPEX and its joint venture participants from completion guarantee obligations to the lenders of the Project. 

A key part of financial completion involves satisfying a 90-day operational completion test where Operator needs to demonstrate the performance of the Ichthys liquefied natural gas facilities with the cumulative production volume calculated over the 90-day period continuously. 

The Project’s 90-day completion test ended successfully on 7 December 2019 with no shutdowns and having recorded a production volume well exceeding figures required by the project financing contract. 

The timespan of approximately 14 months from the Project’s first LNG shipment in October 2018 until financial completion is shorter than the average for LNG projects of a similar scale, which demonstrates how the Project’s production ramp-up has been progressing smoothly and steadily. 

INPEX will continue to lead efforts to sustain stable operations at Ichthys LNG with the understanding and cooperation of all its stakeholders, including the Project’s joint venture participants, local communities, the Commonwealth Government and the governments of the Northern Territory and Western Australia. 

Approximately 70 per cent of the LNG produced is scheduled to be supplied to Japanese customers. Through the Project, INPEX is poised to contribute further to the stable supply of energy to Japan and Taiwan while responding to energy demand in Asia and around the world. 

The impact of this matter on the Company’s consolidated financial results is nil.