Japan’s Inpex has shipped 34 LNG cargoes from its Ichthys export plant in Australia during the first quarter of this year, up by one cargo when compared to the same period last year.
Inpex revealed this in its first-quarter report on Wednesday.
The company reported a 61.2 percent rise in its net profit to 151.5 billion yen ($1.12 billion) due to higher oil and gas sales.
A spokesman for Inpex told LNG Prime via email that the Ichthys project also sent 6 plant condensate cargoes, 8 offshore condensate cargoes, and 9 LPG cargoes during the first quarter.
During the January to March 2022 period, the Ichthys LNG project shipped 33 LNG cargoes, 6 plant condensate cargoes, 8 offshore condensate cargoes, and 9 LPG cargoes, while it sent 112 cargoes of LNG in 2022.
To remind, the Japanese firm said in February that it plans to ship record 132 cargoes of LNG, or 11 per month, from the Ichthys plant in 2023.
The spokesman confirmed on Wednesday that Inpex expects to ship about 11 LNG cargoes per month this year.
The facility at Bladin Point near Darwin has two trains and a nameplate capacity of 8.9 mtpa but it is expected to reach a production of about 9.3 mtpa this year due to debottlenecking.
According to the Inpex Australia website, the firm aims to close the LNG plant for maintenance during September 8-16, 2023.
Ichthys LNG is a joint venture between operator Inpex and major partner TotalEnergies.
Also, other partners include Australian units of CPC, Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas, Kansai Electric Power, Jera, and Toho Gas.
Natural gas arrives to the LNG plant at Bladin Point from the giant Ichthys field offshore Western Australia via an 890 kilometers long export pipeline.
Inpex recently sent the 500th cargo of LNG from its Ichthys terminal in Australia since the start of operations in 2018.