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“I can elaborate that T1 is currently at more or less 100 percent,” the spokesman said.
On September 10, Inpex announced it had decided to reduce Train 1’s rate of operations to about 70 percent to carry out inspections as the unit “is using the same equipment (heat exchangers) as Train 2.”
In November, Inpex revealed in its results report that the train was operating at a slightly reduced production level for the inspection and repair of heat exchangers.
The company said at the time the train is expected to resume full-scale operation at the beginning of December.
On the other hand, Ichthys LNG Train 2 was taken offline on August 20 due to a heat exchanger issue. It was then returned to service on October 9 after the inspection and repair were completed.
Before this, Inpex shut down the train in July.
About 114 LNG cargoes
The 8.9 mtpa Ichthys LNG plant sent 96 LNG cargoes during January-October this year.
Besides LNG cargoes, the Ichthys project also shipped 16 plant condensate cargoes, 23 offshore condensate cargoes, and 25 LPG cargoes during the period.
The spokesman said that there were 8 LNG cargo shipments from Ichthys in November.
“For December, the target is approximately 10 LNG shipments, as announced earlier,” he said.
This means that Inpex expects to ship about 114 LNG cargoes this year.
Last year, the LNG plant sent a record 129 LNG cargoes, 17 cargoes more compared to 2022, as part of the company’s plans to boost production to about 9.3 mtpa due to debottlenecking.
The plant shipped 11 LNG cargoes in 2018, 104 LNG cargoes in 2019, 122 LNG cargoes in 2020, 117 LNG cargoes in 2021, and 112 LNG cargoes in 2022.
Ichthys LNG is a joint venture between operator Inpex and major partner TotalEnergies.
Earlier this year, Inpex also purchased a small stake in Ichthys LNG from compatriot Tokyo Gas to boost its stake from 66.245 percent to 67.82 percent.
Besides TotalEnergies, other partners in the Ichthys project include Australian units of CPC, Osaka Gas, Kansai Electric Power, Jera, and Toho Gas.
Natural gas arrives to the LNG plant at Bladin Point, near Darwin, from the giant Ichthys field offshore Western Australia via an 890-kilometer-long export pipeline.
(Updated to say that there were 8 LNG shipments from the Ichthys project in November.)