Ichthys Ramps Up Output

By Jessica Jaganathan
Monday, April 29, 2019

A tanker carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) has been floating off Australian waters for nearly two weeks as production at Ichthys project ramps up, industry sources told Reuters.

The tanker 'Symphonic Breeze' has been moored at Darwin anchorage since April 17 after loading a cargo from the recently launched Ichthys LNG facility, shipping data from Refinitiv Eikon showed.

The LNG cargo has already been sold to a North Asian buyer, who chose to lift it at a later date due to high inventory in its tanks, an industry source familiar with the matter said.

The "floating cargo" situation has been partly created due to ample global supply with several new projects expected to launch LNG exports this year, including Royal Dutch Shell's Prelude floating terminal that started production late last year in Australia, and as demand remained largely stable, industry sources said.

The delivery period for the cargo was quite wide, the source added.

Production from Ichthys in western Australia has also been ramping up and adding to the glut, the sources added.

"Ichthys production is very strong, which is causing a bit of headache for the market given the current situation," the first source added.

A spokesman from Japanese firm Inpex, the operator of the project, told Reuters that Ichthys is ramping up output, but did not specify the production level.

LNG exports from Ichthys are expected to reach a record high of up to 680,000 tonnes in April, the equivalent of about 91 percent of the nameplate capacity, said Madeleine Overgaard, an LNG market analyst with data intelligence firm Kpler.

The $40 billion Ichthys project shipped its first condensate and LNG cargoes in October last year after several delays and cost overruns.

At full operation, Ichthys is expected to produce 8.9 million tonnes of LNG a year, along with 1.7 million tonnes of LPG and about 100,000 barrels per day of condensate, an ultra-light form of crude oil.

Inpex has said it will take about two to three years to reach full production.

The Ichthys LNG project is a joint venture between Inpex, oil major Total, Taiwan's CPC Corp and the Australian subsidiaries of Japan's Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas , Kansai Electric Power, JERA and Toho Gas.


(Reporting by Jessica Jaganathan, additional reporting by Aaron Sheldrick, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

Categories: Tankers Energy LNG Activity Production Natural Gas Australia/NZ

Related Stories

Vietsovpetro Brings BK-24 Oil Platform Online Two Months Early

Hanwha Ocean Enlists ABB for Singapore’s First Floating LNG Terminal

POSH Set to Tow Nguya FLNG from China to Eni’s Congo Field

Synergy Marine Group Completes Conversion of LNG Vessel to FSRU

Technip Energies Gets FEED Job for Inpex’ Abadi LNG Project in Indonesia

Seatrium Signs FLNG Vessel Upgrade Deal for Golar LNG

China Starts Production at Major Oil Field in Bohai Sea

CNOOC Finds Oil and Gas in South China Sea

Woodside Finds South Korean Partners to Advance LNG Value Chain

Woodside and Jera Agree LNG Cargoes Supply for Japan’s Winter Period

Current News

Malaysia’s Petronas and Oman’s OQEP Strengthen Oil and Gas Ties

Southeast Asia’s 2GW Cross-Border Offshore Wind Scheme Targets 2034 Buildout

Pharos Energy Kicks Off Drilling Campaign Offshore Vietnam

Viridien to Shed More Light on Malaysia’s Offshore Oil and Gas Potential

US Pressure on India Could Propel Russia's Shadow Oil Exports

Energy Drilling’s EDrill-2 Rig Starts Ops for PTTEP in Gulf of Thailand

RINA Wins FEED Contract for Petronas’ Flagship CCS Project in Malaysia

ABL Secures Rig Moving Assignment with India's ONGC

Pakistan, Türkiye Deepen Oil and Gas Ties with Offshore Indus-C Block Deal

Eni-Petronas Gas Joint Venture Up for Launch in 2026

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com