500th cargo departs Inpex-operated Ichthys LNG in Australia

Japanese oil and gas company Inpex has shipped the 500th LNG cargo from its Ichthys LNG project in Australia.

According to the company’s social media update, the milestone was reached on 31 March when the cargo departed onshore processing facilities near Darwin.

The 2021-built 174,000 cbm floating storage and a regasification unit (FSRU) Transgas Power, owned by Greek shipping company Dynagas, carried the 500th LNG cargo.

The Ichthys LNG is led by Inpex as the project operator, alongside major partner TotalEnergies and the Australian subsidiaries of CPC Corporation Taiwan, Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas, Kansai Electric Power, Jera and Toho Gas.

The project shipped its 200th LNG cargo in 2020, some two years after the start of LNG shipment in October 2018.

At its peak production, Ichthys LNG is capable of producing up to 8.9 million tons per annum (mtpa) of LNG and 1.65 mtpa of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Ichthys LNG’s 890-kilometre gas export pipeline delivers gas and some condensate from the Ichthys Explorer central processing facility in the Browse Basin to onshore processing facilities at Bladin Point near Darwin.

Inpex is working on the Ichthys LNG phase 2 development and it awarded a five-year onshore and offshore inspection services, lifting equipment and crane maintenance contract to EnerMech in April 2022.

Last November, US offshore engineering and construction services player McDermott started the construction of a booster compression module for the Inpex-operated LNG development in Australia.