Japan’s Inpex said on Thursday it has shipped three liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes from its giant Ichthys project in Australia as it is also preparing to fire up the second liquefaction unit at the export facility this month.

To remind, the $40 billion LNG export project sent its first LNG cargo to Japan in October just after shipping the first condensate cargo.

The LNG project is “still undergoing ramp up towards achieving stable production… and we expect to reach around 60-70 percent production level in the first year and reach the plateau in 2-3 years after the start-up of LNG production,” president of Inpex, Takayuki Ueda said during an investor meeting discussing the company’s financial results.

Once in full production, the Ichthys project will be able to produce about 8.9 million tons of LNG per year from its two liquefaction trains.

The LNG export facility located at Blaydin Point near Darwin has in total shipped three cargoes as of November 8, Ueda said, adding that Inpex expects to fire up the second liquefaction unit this month.

At peak production, the facility is expected to be able to produce about 10 cargoes per month or about 120 cargoes per year.

About 70 percent of the LNG produced by the export project will be supplied to Japanese customers.

The Ichthys project is also scheduled to start liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) exports this month.

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.

LNG World News Staff