Japan’s Inpex said the first condensate cargo departed its Ichthys liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Australia.

The cargo departed from the project’s offshore floating production, storage and offloading facility, the Ichthys Venturer, moored in the Browse Basin, some 220 kilometers off the northwest coast of Western Australia, on Monday, October 1.

“This shipment of condensate is destined for the Asian market and signifies an important step forward as we begin to generate revenue from a project we expect will operate for 40 years to come,” Inpex president director Australia, Seiya Ito said.

Later this year, the multi-billion dollar Ichthys project will commence shipment of cargoes from Bladin Point near Darwin in Australia –with LNG and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) exports expected to follow in sequence, the company’s statement reads.

At peak, the Ichthys project is expected to produce up to 8.9 million tonnes of LNG per annum, 1.65 million tonnes of LPG per annum and up to 100,000 barrels of condensate per day.

The project is a joint venture between Inpex, major partner Total, Taiwan’s CPC Corporation and the Australian subsidiaries of Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas, Kansai Electric, Chubu Electric Power and Toho Gas.