2 May 2006

Commonwealth & Western Australia State Environmental Referrals
for the Ichthys Field, Western Australia

INPEX Holdings Inc. is pleased to announce that its subsidiary, INPEX Browse, Ltd.,
100% interest holder of the Ichthys Field, has commenced the formal environmental
approval processes for the Ichthys Field with the submission of the Commonwealth andWestern Australia State environmental referral documents.

The referral document ofEnvironment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 has been submitted tothe Commonwealth Department of Environment and Heritage, Canberra, Australia andthe referral document of the Western Australia Environmental Protection Act 1986 has
been submitted to the Environmental Protection Authority in Perth, WA.
The referrals provide a general description of the project and are used to develop
guidelines for an environmental impact assessment of the project, in consultation with
the Australian Commonwealth and Western Australian Governments as well as otherstakeholders.

INPEX will undertake the environmental impact assessment of theproject in accordance with the guidelines.
It is anticipated that the environmental approvals process, from the submission ofreferrals to the approval of the report of environmental impact assessment, will takeapproximately 24 months to complete.

In parallel with the environmental impact

assessment, further engineering work will be completed.

Subject to obtaining

approvals and receiving a production license, INPEX is currently planning for theproduction of LNG, condensate and LPG to commence approximately mid-2012.
INPEX plans to develop the Ichthys Field as an LNG export project, initially producing
approximately 6MTPA of LNG for export.

Expansion of the facilities will be determinedby market conditions and availability of potential gas reserves in the future.

INPEXestimates that Ichthys Field has sufficient gas resources for a production life longer than
30 years. In addition to the LNG production, around 100,000 bbl/day of condensate andLPG will also be produced at the peak rate.

Key elements of the project are:•Offshore facilities, including subsea production wells located in and around thefield to recover and partially treat gas and condensate•

Subsea pipeline, to transmit hydrocarbons from the offshore facilities to an
onshore location•

Onshore gas treatment and LNG production facilities, including product storagefor LNG, condensate and LPG•Loading and handling facilities

INPEX has spent considerable time and effort evaluating potential locations for theonshore facilities and has determined that North and South Maret Islands are a suitablelocation in the Kimberley.

In addition, INPEX is also considering Champagny Island as

an alternative to North and South Maret Islands.

The final decision on the location will

be made after further discussions with the relevant Aboriginal Traditional Owners andother stakeholders, as well as further detailed field studies to validate work completed todate.
To further contribute to the stable supply of energy, INPEX will develop the Ichthys Field
in a safe and environmentally responsible manner consistent with its corporate strategy
and taking full account of Australian government policies and the views of local
stakeholders.
The EPBC referral document can be viewed on the INPEX website at:www.inpexhd.co.jp/english

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