Duo to provide helicopter services for Inpex’s Ichthys project

A provider of helicopter transportation services HNZ Group has stepped into a joint venture (JV) with another helicopter services company, PHI Inc., to support a new contract with Inpex in Australia. 

HNZ Group said on Thursday that the joint venture with PHI would provide offshore helicopter transportation services for the Inpex-led Ichthys LNG Project.

The Ichthys LNG Project is a Joint Venture between Inpex, the operator, major partner Total, CPC Corporation Taiwan and the Australian subsidiaries of Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas, Kansai Electric Power, Chubu Electric Power and Toho Gas.

The project is expected to produce 8.9 million tonnes of LNG and 1.6 million tonnes of LPG per annum, along with more than 100,000 barrels of condensate per day at peak.

According to HNZ, the two companies would supply up to four Sikorsky S-92 heavy helicopters, alongside the Ichthys Project’s current aviation provider, and support of the safe and efficient installation, hook-up, commissioning and production activities of the projects’ offshore facilities in Australia.

The aircraft will be leased from PHI and will be based out of Broome, Western Australia. The contract will begin on or before April 1, 2017, with a base term of five years, plus two two-year option periods.

The JV is held fifty-fifty by PHI and HNZ and will provide all aspects of helicopter services including personnel, equipment, support for flight operations, maintenance, and administration.

Don Wall, President and Chief Executive Officer of HNZ Group, said: “We are very pleased to have gained a new customer and support the significant Ichthys Project through this joint venture. In PHI, we have gained a valuable partner who shares and promotes our values of providing safe, reliable and efficient operations.

“We are excited about working together on this project, growing our Australian business, and look forward to supporting the Ichthys Project over the course of the new contract.”