Inpex is working to advance Indonesia's Abadi LNG Project in order to meet the government's request

Takayuki ueda, CEO of Inpex Japan, said that the company is working hard to accelerate the start-up of the Abadi project to Indonesia in order to "meet" the government's request for speed. Western companies have shown a "strong interest" to purchase liquefied gas.

Inpex will benefit from the long-delayed project worth $20 billion, which is expected to produce up 9.5 million tons of LNG per year. Inpex is Japan's leading oil and gas exploration company. The company aims to make a final decision on investment in 2027, with a start-up date in the early 30s.

Jakarta has asked Inpex for a rapid acceleration of the project in order to meet the rapidly increasing local gas demand.

Ueda said in an earlier interview that the company is considering different design and contracting options, despite the challenges.

Strong Buying Interest

Asian importers and Western giants are eager to secure LNG produced within the region to meet rising demand for power in 2030s due to data centre expansion and to ensure energy security because of increased geopolitical risk,? he said.

Ueda stated that although we are still in the non-binding stage of expression of interest for this project, there is already a lot of interest from Asian countries.

Inpex owns a stake of 65% in the project and began front-end engineering (FEED) work in September after beginning initial work in April. However, rising costs pose a challenge to Ueda.

He said that the company is aiming for an internal rate of return of around 15%. If this target isn't met, the company could negotiate with Indonesian authorities to receive additional incentives like tax subsidies.

ICHTHYS

Ueda stated that Inpex was searching for large gas reserves in?Australia to feed a third LNG Train and to 'backfill existing capacities at its Ichthys Project in Darwin.

Ueda stated that they are looking at various options to ensure the production of Ichthys even after 2050.

"We have secured some assets such as the Cash ?Maple gas field near Ichthys and other discovered-but-undeveloped fields, but we are also in various discussions for larger gas sources," he said, adding there ?is interest in the onshore Beetaloo Basin in Australia's Northern Territory.

In 2015, the company received a permit to explore for shale-gas in Beetaloo.

He said, "We are examining the gas potential of the region." Helen Clark, reporting from Perth and Yuka Obayashi in Tokyo; Florence Tan and Christian Schmollinger editing.

(source: Reuters)