Australia's Ichthys LNG to resume full runs in Oct after restarting Train 2: INPEX

The INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG project in Australia expects to resume full runs in October after restarting Train 2 following an Aug. 20 outage, as it weighs supplying "alternative cargoes" to its customers, an INPEX spokesperson told S&P Global Commodity Insights Aug. 27.

Ichthys LNG's Train 2 was shut late Aug. 20 after spotting "a similar sign of issue" at the train, which was restarted July 28 after having shut July 20 due to a glitch, the spokesperson said.

The project is expected to be running at 50% capacity with production from Train 1 alone until it restarts Train 2. It is expected to resume full runs in October after having restarted Train 2 following repair works and inspections, the spokesperson said.

INPEX expects to see "a couple of cargo" impact from the Ichthys LNG Train 2 outage for 2024, the spokesperson added.

Price impact

Asia-Pacific regional spot LNG prices saw a slight uptick Aug. 26, driven by replenishment activity following the shutdown of a coal power unit in Japan and the outage at Ichthys LNG.

Platts assessed the October JKM at $13.502/MMBtu Aug. 26, up 5.9 cents/MMBtu or 0.4% on the day, according to data from Commodity Insights.

The recent unexpected shutdown of the Ichthys LNG Train 2 was bad news for Japan, where it has a key customer base, amid the country's ongoing heat waves, which has heightened fears of tightening the power supply and demand balance.

Ichthys shipments

INPEX has been building a framework for a stable supply of 9.3 million metric tons per year of LNG at its Ichthys project by debottlenecking the facility, upgrading the cooling systems for liquefaction and addressing vibration issues.

As of July, the Ichthys project had shipped a total of 76 LNG cargoes this year, with July shipments slipping to 10 cargoes from 11 in June.

Ichthys LNG shipments are expected to slow to 10 cargoes per month in the second half of 2024, the spokesperson said earlier, compared with an average of 11 cargoes per month in the first half of the year.

The project, operated by INPEX with a 67.82% stake, involves piping gas from the offshore Ichthys field in the Browse Basin in Northwestern Australia, more than 890 km (552 miles) to the onshore LNG plant near Darwin that has an 8.9 MMt/y nameplate capacity. At its peak, the plant can produce 1.65 MMt/y of LPG and 100,000 b/d of condensates.