Inpex agreed to acquire an additional 4% interest in the Ichthys LNG project in Australia from Total SA for $1.6 billion, increasing the operator’s participating interest to 66.245% from 62.245%.
The first offshore condensate cargo was exported on Oct. 1, the first LNG cargo was exported on Oct. 22, and the first LPG cargo was exported on Nov. 16 (OGJ Online, Oct. 2, 2018; Oct. 23, 2018, Nov. 16, 2018). The two LNG trains are now fully operational.
At peak, the Ichthys project will produce as much as 8.9 million tpy of LNG, 1.65 million tpy of LPG, and 100,000 b/d of condensate.
“Ichthys is part of a wave of Australian LNG projects which have unfortunately experienced major cost overruns and delays during their construction phase,” said Arnaud Breuillac, Total’s president of exploration and production, noting Inpex’s final capital expenditure estimate of $45 billion compared with a 2017 estimate of $40 billion. The sale is meant to control the capital employed in Ichthys, Breuillac said, adding that Total remains committed to the project.
The transaction, which is subject to Australian regulatory approvals, reduces Total’s interest in the asset to 26%.
