Japan’s Inpex, the operator of the Ichthys LNG export development in Australia, and South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries have resolved a legal dispute related to the giant project.
SHI said in a stock exchange filing it resolved the dispute with Inpex Operations Australia, a unit of Inpex, by mutual agreement on September 24.
In the filing posted on Monday, Samsung said “all arbitration proceedings have been fully closed.” It did not reveal any further information.
The dispute was related to the Ichthys central processing facility (CPF), which started production offshore Western Australia in 2018. Samsung built this giant CPF, Ichthys Explorer, and delivered it in 2017. But it completed the installation works in 2019.
Also, the project had started production later the planned and Inpex had declined to pay the rest of the contracted amount worth $116 million to SHI due to the delays with the CPF, SHI previously said.
SHI said earlier this year Inpex had filed a $480 million countersuit against the yard. The move followed a suit by SHI with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre claiming Inpex did not pay the rest of the contracted amount.
The Ichthys project produces LNG at the 8.9 mtpa plant at Bladin Point near Darwin.
Natural gas arrives in Darwin from the giant Ichthys field offshore Western Australia via an 890-kilometre export pipeline.
Ichthys is a joint venture between operator Inpex and major partner France’s TotalEnergies. Other partners include Australian units of CPC Corporation Taiwan, Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas, Kansai Electric Power, JERA and Toho Gas.