Total SA reported on 13 December 2018 that it had agreed to sell 4% of its share in the Ichthys LNG Project to joint venture partner, and operator of the project, Inpex.Â  Under the terms of the sale, Inpex is paying USD 1.6 billion.Â  The deal is subject to relevant authority approvals.  Total currently holds a 30% interest in the project, and so will be reducing its holding to 26% once the sale is complete. Â Inpexâs share in the project will increase to 66.245% upon completion of the agreement.  Total reported that its sale of interest in the project was part of its âconstant portfolio review to optimize our capital allocationâ.  The Ichthys field was discovered in December 1980 and supplies gas to the Ichthys LNG facilities, located onshore at Darwin, via an 890 km pipeline.Â  The project commenced production in July 2018, with condensate initially produced.Â  The first shipment of LNG was shipped in late October 2018.Â  The field is located in production licence WA-50-L.Â  Holding in WA-51-L, which lies to the west.Â  As well as Inpex and Total, minor interests are held by a number of Japanese companies, which are supplied LNG from the project and hold interest as part of their original supply agreements.  The Ichthys project is expected to produce up to 8.9 MMtpa LNG once at production plateau.
Australia, WA-51-L