Japan’s Inpex to raise Ichthys LNG project stake

Market: Natural gas
12/01/24

Japanese upstream company Inpex plans to acquire a 1.575pc share in the Ichthys LNG project in Australia from Japan's gas utility Tokyo Gas at the end of February.

This will raise project operator Inpex's stake in the project to 67.82pc from its current 66.245pc share. The Ichthys LNG project can generate 8.9mn t/yr of LNG and 1.65mn t/yr of LPG. The sale came as Tokyo Gas decided to optimise its portfolio by selling its entire stake to Inpex at an undisclosed value. Tokyo Gas said this will not impact its LNG procurement and supplies.

Tokyo Gas agreed to sell its five subsidiaries in Australia at $2.15bn to US energy investment firm EIG Global Energy Partners' subsidiary MidOcean Energy in October 2022, targetting to complete the transaction at the end of February. Inpex decided to use its pre-emption right to acquire Ichthys project shares held by two Tokyo Gas subsidiaries, Tokyo Gas Ichthys and Tokyo Gas Ichthys F&E, and signed an agreement with Tokyo Gas on 11 January. Pre-emption right is a contractual right between parties involved in a project, enabling one to purchase a stake in the project from the other, before it offers its shares for sale to external parties.

Tokyo Gas has attempted to decarbonise its portfolio, while reducing its involvement in LNG upstream projects.

By Nanami Oki

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Japan’s Inpex to raise Ichthys LNG project stake

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