Ichthys LNG Terminal
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Ichthys LNG Terminal is an operating LNG terminal in Western Australia, Australia.
Contents
Location
Project Details
- Owner:
- Parent: Inpex (68.38%), Total S.A. (30%), Osaka Gas (1.2%), Toho Gas (0.42%)
- Location: Browse Basin, Western Australia, Australia
- Coordinates: -17.961944, 122.236111 (approximate)
- Capacity: 8.9 mtpa, 1.28 bcfd
- Status: Operating
- Type: Export
- Trains: 2
- Start Year: 2018
Note: mtpa = million tonnes per year; bcfd = billion cubic feet per day
Background
Ichthys LNG Terminal is an LNG terminal in Western Australia, Australia.[1] Ichthys LNG is named after the Ichthys offshore gas and condensate field in western Australia.
Ichthys LNG is one of the most expensive liquefied natural gas projects in history.[2] Seventy per cent of the gas was slated to go to Japan.[3]
In 2008 Ichthys original budget was about $20 billion.[4] In May 2017 it was $37 billion and counting.[2]
Ichthys was approved in 2011. Construction on Ichthys began in 2012. It is slated to start-up in 2017.[5] The West Australian reported in September 2017 that 8,500 people are working just to complete the onshore facility at Darwin.[6]
Ichthys has a massive infrastructure. It has two Korean built floating offshore platforms. The gas fields off the Kimberly will feed the LNG. Broome's port and industrial one, 450 miles away, will provide significant support.[6]
In July 2017 CBS News reported that Ichthys LNG may possess a major crack in the floating production storage and offloading unit that could cost billions.[2]
Reuters reported in October 2017 that Wheatstone LNG Terminal in Western Australia is the sixth out of eight projects in a $200 billion Australian LNG construction boom with two more facilities to be launched. The two remaining are Shell’s Prelude Floating LNG Terminal and Ichthys LNG Terminal.[7]
As of 2017, Australia is the second largest LNG exporter after Qatar. The country exports almost 44 million tons a year. [8]
In 2017 it was discovered that the petroleum resource rent tax had failed to collect billions of dollars in revenue north-west Australia. According to research at Monash University, Wheatstone LNG Terminal, Pluto LNG Terminal, and Ichthys LNG Terminal are not subect to commonwealth royalities.[9]
The terminal began commercial operations in November 2018.[10]
Environment
In 2015 The Guardian reported that Australia’s top 20 emitting facilities include the Wheatstone LNG Terminal, Gorgon LNG Terminal, Ichthys LNG Terminal, and Pluto LNG Terminal.[11]
ABC News reported in March 2016 that Ichthys had tried to renege on $30 million worth of its environmental offset programs designed to help mitigate the environmental damage of the LNG.[3]
Government approval was conditional on the company delivering $91 million of environmental offset projects over the projects 40-year estimated life. The company had hoped to dump some of its marine life and land commitments. Ichthys had originally agreed to a joint program with Aboriginal rangers to manage dugong, coastal dolphins and turtles program along the coast.[3]
The company claimed that new studies showed that the environmental effects were not as great as originally anticipated, therefore some offset programs could be dropped.[3]
Articles and resources
References
- ↑ Ichthys LNG Terminal, Company, accessed April 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Chery Kang, "Investors are worried there's a multibillion-dollar crack in one of the world's largest LNG projects," CBS News, July 7, 2017.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Kate Wild,"NPEX joint venture seeks to dump $30 million of federal environmental projects" ABC News, March 30, 2016.
- ↑ Peter Milne, "Inpex will pay nothing to extract oil and gas," The Western Australian, July 14, 2017.
- ↑ "2017 World LNG Report" International Gas Union, Accessed June 12, 2017.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Sarah Martin,"Joyce backs gas pipeline from WA to east coast," The West Australian, September 22, 2017.
- ↑ Sonali Paul, Henning Gloystein, "Chevron starts LNG output at Australia's Wheatstone, first cargo expected in weeks," Reuters, October 8, 2017.
- ↑ Diane Munro, [http://www.agsiw.org/qatar-moves-ensure-lng-dominance/ "Qatar Moves to Ensure LNG Dominance ,"] Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, April 17, 2017.
- ↑ Gareth Hutchens,"Australia must charge royalties on natural gas or lose billions, says expert," The Guardian, February 8, 2017.
- ↑ First Ichthys Condensate Shipped from Darwin Terminal, Maritime Executive, Dec. 27, 2018
- ↑ Lenore Taylor,"Direct Action 'safeguards' will allow industry to increase emissions – analysts," The Guardian, September 2, 2015.
