Australian Government approves $12b Inpex gas project  

The ABC reports that the government has given the go-ahead to Inpex's Ichthys LNG project off the north west coast of Australia - Government approves $12b Inpex gas project.

The Federal Government has given the green light for a multi-billion-dollar gas plant to be built in Darwin.

Japanese company Inpex will now be able to press ahead with building a gas field facility about 800 kilometres from Darwin, and a pipeline from there to a processing facility in the NT capital, after Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke gave approval for the project.

Mr Burke says there will be significant economic benefits from the $12 billion project, but says he has only given his approval under strict environmental conditions. Mr Burke says that includes conditions on dredging to ensure dolphins, dugongs and turtles are protected.

Inpex will be able to produce liquefied natural and petroleum gas through offshore processing, and build an 850-kilometre pipeline and an onshore processing facility in Darwin Harbour. But the company will be required to protect and manage about 2,000 hectares of vegetation and a marine habitat.

Mr Burke says it is now up to the company to decide whether to invest in the plant.

The Ichthys project is considered more robust than most other proposed LNG export projects in Australia because its gas will come to the surface with a rich stream of condensate (light oil) and other petroleum liquids. The condensate and other liquids will be stripped from the gas stream at Ichthys's offshore location, with the gas then piped to the LNG plant in Darwin for eventual export, mainly to Japan.

On an annual basis, the project is expected to produce 8.4 million tonnes of LNG and 1.6 million tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (propane). The project sweetener is the 100,000 barrels-a-day of condensate that the project is forecast to produce at its peak.