PartIIFirst 10 years after merger

Preface

8Part II First 10 years after merger

The current INPEX was created on October 1, 2008. It
has worked hard to drive key projects seamlessly both in Japanand abroad, and to achieve the important goals set during
the business integration, while maximizing the synergies of asmooth integration of the former INPEX and Teikoku Oil.
The greatest of those goals, and the shared dream wasto establish itself as a competitive E&P company, capable ofself-sustained growth on the world stage. To achieve that goal,
we determined to develop our capabilities, experience andhuman resources through materializing the Ichthys and Abadi
projects as the operator.
In this respect, the Ichthys Project is of particular notethroughout the first ten years of the current INPEX. Making
the final investment decision (FID) after overcoming many obstacles, production finally started. The journey was exciting but
also a full of difficulties.
With the LNG plant site unavoidably changed to Darwin, 900 kilometers away from the production facility, work
had proceeded at a steady pace to create development plans,
sign engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts, and obtain environmental approvals and licenses. At thesame time, other work focused on to solidify the company’s
financial position through a capital expansion of ¥500 billion,
raising project financing of ¥2 trillion, and finalizing long-termsales contracts for 8.4 million tons of LNG, after which thelong-anticipated FID was made in January 2012.
Another important goal was to create a stable gas supply
chain by connecting LNG from the company’s Ichthys andother projects to its own gas supply infrastructure in Japan. In
August 2008, just prior to full integration, construction of the
Naoetsu LNG Terminal was decided, with construction of the
Toyama Gas pipeline beginning in April 2012. By connecting
the highly cost-competitive Minami-Nagaoka Gas Field to one
of Japan’s greatest high-pressure pipeline networks stretching
1,400 kilometers, they created an important piece of supply
infrastructure for domestic gas and overseas LNG that enabled
growth and new development of the company’s domestic gas
supply business.
In light of the progress made toward achieving these goals,
INPEX was expected to deliver clear long-term corporate strategy to investors and other stakeholders. As a response, INPEX
announced Medium- to Long-term Vision in May 2012.
This included the basic goals of responsible management
as a global company, enhanced HSE in operations, continuingenhancements to governance, creation of a vibrant organization,

development of global HR, and building of robust financial
structures. It included efforts to bring all areas of business tolevels appropriate for a global company.
It also included a business strategy that clarified threebusiness pillars for INPEX through the 2020s, and detailed agrowth strategy and priority initiatives during development of
the Ichthys Field. Going forward, INPEX management would
progress in line with this Medium- to Long-term Vision.
With this in mind, the company actively focused on upstream businesses, including preparations for development of
the Abadi Field, extension and expansion of the Abu Dhabi
concession, development of the Kashagan Field, expansion of
exploration operator activities, and acquisition of new assets.
In Japan, the company developed the Naoetsu LNG Terminal and Toyama Gas pipeline as part of efforts to expand its
domestic gas supply business. With a focus on Ichthys, it also
secured its own fleet of ships, including ownership of its first
LNG tanker and chartering of other vessels. Operation has now
begun and the company’s gas supply chain is complete, with aview to further development going forward.
In what may be a new dawn, INPEX has launched into
initiatives toward renewable energies, starting with solar power
generation and geothermal power generation.
With oil prices reaching historical lows from the end of
2014, INPEX was under pressure to respond urgently andseverely, with actions including reducing costs, reviewing investment programs, and reviewing its portfolio in order tostrengthen its business structure and improve business efficiencies. In fact, the company was experiencing the greatest changes
to the business environment in its entire history. Incidentally,
it was at this time that production from the Attaka, Mahakamand other concessions, which had underpinned growth forthe company for 40 years, started to decline. Therefore, fiscal 2014 and onward represented difficult times for businessperformance.
Looking back over the past ten years, INPEX has faced
numerous major challenges over what feels like the most difficult of journeys. During this period, INPEX has remained
focused on becoming a global operator and has made great
strides in responding to the many different experiences it faced,
including developing HSE-related systems under the “safety
first” motto, overall planning and process management, procuring and contracting materials and insurances, securing andmanaging human resources and finances, and the legal system.
At the same time, the company went through a decade of

upheaval, experiencing firsthand how much the business environment could change over a short period of time and how important an agile and flexible response is to things like changing
energy supply/demand structures with the arrival of shale oiland other energies, the climate change problem, the growth inrenewable energies, tighter corporate governance and the flowof ESG investments.
The long-awaited Ichthys production came online lastyear. But INPEX has experienced big developments on the business front over the past ten years. Upstream business production volume increased from about 400,000 to about 500,000
barrels per day, with the Ichthys Field growing to a point where
it could achieve 700,000 barrels per day at plateau production.
With confirmed reserves mainly in the Ichthys and Abu Dhabi
assets growing from 1.6 billion BOE to 3.6 billion BOE (crude
oil equivalents), the company’s business infrastructure has beenenhanced enormously. Together, the start of full production at
Kashagan, the expansion of the Abu Dhabi concession, and thestart of production at Ichthys have enhanced the company’s
portfolio. And in Japan, long-term production systems havebeen strengthened at the Minami-Nagaoka Gas field.
INPEX has expanded its domestic gas supply infrastructure to the two billion cubic meter level, with plans to further
expand to 2.5 billion cubic meters in the near future. At thesame time, it is developing renewable energies as a businessthrough geothermal power generation at Sarulla, and progress
toward geothermal and wind power generation.
Next for INPEX is large-scale development of the Abadi
Gas Field. Utilizing the accomplishments of the past 10 years
to enable its next stage of growth in line with a new growthvision, and leveraging those difficult experiences in future opportunities, INPEX will push through these changing times as
it continues to advance as a global company.
The following pages detail the growth and experience trajectory of INPEX over these past ten years.
For the sake of convenience, all timeline references to actions of the company’s predecessors will be referred to as being
taken by INPEX.

Preface92008–09
2008
Oct Three companies merged to establish INPEX CORPORATION
Nov Acquired interest in the Block BM-C-31, Campos Basin, offshore Brazil
Nov Acquired the Semai II Production Sharing Contract in the Seram Sea, offshore
West Papua, Indonesia
Dec Acquired 40% participating interest in the Block 18, Oriente Basin, onshore
Ecuador

2009
Jan
Mar
Apr
Apr
Apr
Apr

10

Initiated FEED for Ichthys LNG Project LNG liquefaction plant
Acquired interests in the discovered but undeveloped area located close to
the Van Gogh Oil Field offshore Western Australia
Opened Darwin Office in Australia
Completed Japan-GTL Demonstration Plant
Invested in ELIIY Power Co., Ltd., which is planning mass production ofhigh-capacity lithium-ion batteries
Initiated offshore FEED for Ichthys LNG Project production facilities

Jun
Jul
Aug
Oct
Oct
Nov
Dec

Commenced crude oil production from the Frade Field, Campos Basin, offshore Brazil
Lifted first cargo from Tangguh LNG Project in Indonesia
Commenced construction of Naoetsu LNG Terminal
Completed Shin Oumi Line (68 kilometers between Tomioka, Joetsu City andToumi, Itoigawa City)
Ceased production at Griffin oil fields located offshore Western Australia
Transferred partial interest in the Abadi field, Masela Block to PT EMP Energi
Indonesia (EMPI)
Commenced crude oil production from the North Belut Gas Field in the SouthNatuna Sea Block B in Indonesia

FPSO vessel at Frade Field

Train 1 and Train 2 at Tangguh LNG Terminal

Unloading berth at Tangguh LNG Terminal

Naoki Kuroda, then INPEX President, speaking at a party announcing completionof the Shin Oumi Line

Frade Field offshore Campos, Brazil commences oil
production
In June 2009, the Frade Field offshore of Campos, Brazil started producing oil. This was the first time a Japanesecompany had participated in a Brazilian petroleum upstream
project that progressed to production. Discovered in 1986,
the Frade Field is situated offshore in 1,050 to 1,300 meters ofwater, about 370 kilometers northeast of Rio de Janeiro.
With its Petroleum Law Revision of 1997, Brazil opened
to foreign companies its upstream oil concessions that had
previously been exclusive domain of the country’s national oil
company Petrobras. In line with the INPEX strategy of gaining
a foothold in Brazil through participation in upstream projects, the company took part in an international bidding process conducted by Petrobras in July 1999. At that time, theFrade Field was in the exploration and evaluation stage, andwas successful in acquiring the Frade Field concession interest. INPEX is participating in this project through Frade Japão
Petróleo Limitada (FJPL), which holds 18.3% interest. FJPL isa Brazilian subsidiary of INPEX Offshore North Campos, Ltd.,

whose shareholders are INPEX, Sojitz Corporation and Japan
Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC). With
Chevron as operator (participating interest of 51.7%), FJPL
(18.3%) is partnering with Petrobras (30%) in development
and production from this project.
This field was developed on the concept of tying back thesubsea wells to a floating production, storage and offloading(FPSO) vessel. The final investment decision (FID) for the
Frade Field was obtained in June 2006, with production starting in June 2009. Due to small oil seeps, the project partners
voluntarily suspended production temporarily in March 2012,
but safely resumed oil production in April 2013.

of the project as well as geographical challenges of project development in such a remote location.
The Tangguh LNG Project is composed of three Blocks:
Berau, Wiriagar and Muturi, located between Berau Bay andBintuni Bay in Bintuni, in the Indonesian province of West
Papua. As a result of exploration carried out since the mid1990s, giant gas fields straddling these three Blocks were identified. In 1997, President Suharto named this large LNG project“Tangguh” as the third major LNG project following Arun andBontang. INPEX acquired a 16.30% participating interest in
this project in October 2001 through MI Berau, a company
jointly established with Mitsubishi Corporation (INPEX net
7.17%). INPEX later acquired a further stake, increasing its
net interest to 7.79%. Joint venture partners in this project
are the operator BP (40.2%), CNOOC (13.9%), Nippon Oil
Exploration (Berau) (12.2%), KG Berau Petroleum (8.6%),
LNG Japan Corporation (7.3%), and KG Wiriagar Petroleum(1.4%).
The Tangguh LNG Project obtained approval from theIndonesian government in January 2005 for the development

plan with total annual LNG production capacity of 7.6 million
tons through trains 1 & 2. FID was made in March 2005 andwent on to ship the first LNG cargo in 2009. In July 2016, theproject made FID for the development of a third train to develop the huge amount of recoverable reserves and increase thevalue of the project. Development work is currently progressing toward the planned start of production in 2020. After thestartup of train 3 for production, the annual LNG production
capacity will increase to 11.4 million tons and it will be one of
the world’s largest LNG projects.

Part II First 10 years after merger

Tangguh LNG Project commences LNG shipment
In July 2009, the Tangguh LNG Project lifted the firstcargo from the LNG production and offloading facility inthe Bintuni Bay, West Papua Province, Indonesia. The project
moved to full-scale operations in the short period of four years
and four months from the final investment decision (FID) in
March 2005. It was a tremendous result considering the scale

INPEX discontinues oil production at Griffin oil fields
offshore Western Australia
In October 2009, the Griffin oil fields in the WA-10-L
production license region offshore Western Australia, withINPEX involvement through its subsidiary INPEX Alpha,ceased production. This was the first project in Australia that
INPEX, as a Japanese company, became involved from exploration through oil field discovery, development and production.
It was also a major project that gave INPEX an opportunity for
2008–2009

11

2010
Jan
Jan
Feb
Feb
Feb
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul

Received regasified LNG from Shizuoka Gas Co., Ltd.
JODCO exhibited at the 3rd World Future Energy Summit 2010 (Abu Dhabi)with the main theme of renewable energy
Commenced CO2-EOR joint study with JOGMEC in Abu Dhabi
Commenced crude oil production from the Van Gogh Oil Field, offshore Western Australia
Acquired interests in Block BM-ES-23 Espirito Santo Basin, offshore Brazil
Formulated the Corporate HSE Mid-Term Plan (Phase 1)
Obtained final approval for development plans for Chirag Oil Project of ACG
Block, Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan
Obtained approval of development on the Kitan Oil Field Joint Petroleum Development Area, Timor Sea (JPDA06-105)
Signed Joint Venture Agreement for development in the Orinoco Oil Belt,
Venezuela
Toshiaki Kitamura became the President & CEO
Decommissioned Offshore Iwaki Platform

Jul Decided extension of Shin Tokyo Line (fourth phase) (between Takase, Tomioka City and Kamiozuka, Fujioka City)
Jul Resolved to issue new shares and conduct a secondary offering of shares inorder to fund Ichthys LNG Project development expenditures
Aug Commenced demonstration tests with JGC and BASF of new technology toremove CO2 from natural gas
Aug Acquired participating interest in the Block 117, onshore Peru
Aug Acquired interests in Nganzi Block, onshore D.R. Congo
Aug Commenced crude oil production from the Ravensworth Field, offshore Western Australia
Sep Sold Offshore Northwest Java and Offshore Southeast Sumatra interests to
Pertamina
Sep Acquired 15% participating interest in the Sebuku Block in Indonesia
Oct Withdrew from the Azadegan development project in Iran
Nov Released Invitation to Tender for the Central Processing Facility for Ichthys
LNG Project

GRIFFIN VENTURE, the FPSO vessel used for offshore processing and storageof oil from the Griffin oil fields

full participation in oil and gas exploration and development
in Australia.
The Griffin oil fields consisted of three fields, the Griffin,
the Chinook and the Scindian. They were located about 62
kilometers off the coast of Western Australia in the Carnarvon
Basin and in a water depth of about 130 meters. Discovered in
1989 and 1990, the fields started production in January 1994.
After processing and storage on an FPSO vessel, the oil was offloaded to tankers, and gas was pumped through a 70-kilometer
subsea pipeline for sale within Australia. With a 20% participating interest in the project, INPEX Alpha worked on production
with the operator BHP Billiton (45%) and ExxonMobil (35%).
The fields were producing about 80,000 barrels of oil per
day at peak. However, through natural depletion the volume
dropped to less than 4,000 barrels per day until 2009 when
production finally ceased. The fields produced a total of 178
million barrels of oil equivalent.

12Part II First 10 years after merger

NINGALOO VISION, the FPSO vessel processing oil from the Van Gogh Oil Field
and Coniston Oil Field

From left: Then Chairman Naoki Kuroda, President Toshiaki Kitamura andVice Chairman Masatoshi Sugioka launching the new organizational structure in June 2010

INPEX commences oil production at multiple oil fields
offshore Western Australia
In February 2010, INPEX started producing oil throughits subsidiary, INPEX Alpha, at the Van Gogh Oil Field locatedin production license region WA-35-L offshore Western Australia. In August 2010, production also started from the Ravensworth Oil Field in the WA-43-L region. This was soon after
production in the Griffin oil fields ceased in 2009, which was
one of INPEX’s core business activities in Australia.
Discovered in 2003, the Van Gogh Oil Field is locatedabout 50 kilometers offshore Western Australia at a water depthof 400 meters. In 2007, development the field was decidedwith the concept of tying back the subsea wells to an FPSO
vessel. INPEX Alpha has a 47.499% participating interest in
this project, with the remaining 52.501% held by Apache Corporation (currently Santos) as the operator. In May 2015, theConiston Oil Field located in the Coniston Unit, straddling the
WA-35-L region where the Van Gogh Oil Field is located andthe neighboring WA-55-L region, started production throughthe FPSO used at the Van Gogh Oil Field.

The Ravensworth Oil Field, also discovered in 2003, islocated 45 kilometers offshore Western Australia but in ashallower depth of 210 meters. The decision to move to development was made in 2007. INPEX Alpha has a 28.500%
participating interest in this project, with the operator BHP
Billiton holding 39.999% and the remaining 31.501% heldby Apache Corporation (currently Santos). The oil produced
from the Ravensworth Oil Field is processed and offloaded at
the FPSO operated in the neighboring WA-42-L production
license area.
INPEX withdraws from Azadegan development project
The Azadegan Oil Field, a giant onshore oil field locatedabout 80 kilometers west of Ahwaz, the capital of Iran’s Khuzestan Province, was discovered in 1999. In 2000, the concessionof Saudi Arabia held by Japan through Arabian Oil Company,
Ltd. was expired. In reaction to this, the Japanese government
was looking for a replacement concession in the Middle East
to secure the country’s energy security. In November 2000, on
the occasion of Iranian President Khatami’s visit to Japan, the
2010

13

Nov Transferred partial interest (10%) in the Masela Block
Nov Withdrew from the Block 18 without migration to service contract, onshore
Ecuador
Dec Released Invitation to Tender for Ichthys LNG Project onshore LNG facilities
Dec Obtained approval for Abadi Gas field FLNG development plans

14

enterprise, with comprehensive support from the Japanese
government, so having to withdraw halfway through was aregrettable result. Nevertheless, this project provided INPEX
with first-hand experience of the changes in the external environment, such as oil prices, materials and equipment markets
and international affairs, which are unavoidable when conducting upstream businesses. Since then, the useful experienceand knowledge gained by INPEX through this episode hashelped with other project management and risk management
situations.

JODCO exhibiting at 3rd World Future Energy Summit 2010 in Abu Dhabi

Decommissioning work of platform at the Offshore Iwaki Gas Field

two governments signed a basic agreement giving Japan priority
negotiation rights for the Azadegan development. At the time,
INPEX had succeeded in acquiring a large concession in the
Caspian Sea to add to its key assets in Indonesia and Australia.
It set out to transform into a company capable of expanding
globally and rank among the international oil companies ofEurope and the US some day in the future. Therefore, it had
decided that becoming an operator of one of the major oil fielddevelopment businesses in the Middle East was an essential
strategy for that goal. For this reason, it entered the contest as
a private sector company and began serious negotiations with
NIOC toward acquiring a concession. As a result of tough negotiations, in February 2004, INPEX and Naftiran IntertradeCo., Ltd (NICO), a subsidiary of NIOC, finally managed tosign a service agreement. It was called a “buyback” agreement
regarding the evaluation and development of the Azadegan Oil
Field with participating interests of 75% and 25% respectively.
The contract for Azadegan Oil Field development adopts a
two-stage concept. The full production level for stage 1 was
expected to reach 150,000 barrels per day after 4 years and 4

months from the date of the contract, and the full productionlevel for stage 2 was expected to reach 260,000 barrels per day
after 8 years from the date of the contract.
Subsequently, in accordance with the basic development
plan, oil reservoir evaluation work, basic design work on thefacility, and development preparations were conducted. However, the project economics had turned for the worse since2004 because the international situation surrounding Iran deteriorated and dramatic increases in steel market prices caused
considerable increases in development costs. As a result, in October 2006, INPEX assigned 65% of its participating interest
to NICO and transferred operatorship. Furthermore, the international situation continuously deteriorated, and sanctions
against Iran by the US got tougher in particular. Therefore, investment to Iran became practically impossible. As a result, in
October 2010, INPEX made an overall decision to withdraw
from the project in light of discussions with relevant parties
including the Japanese government.
As explained above, this project was a large project thatwas part of a planned strategy to advance further as a global

Part II First 10 years after merger

INPEX decommissions offshore Iwaki platform
In May 2010, INPEX started decommissioning the platform at its Offshore Iwaki Gas Field, located about 40 kilometers offshore of Naraha Town, in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan,
at a water depth of 154 meters.
The Iwaki Gas Field was the first offshore gas field on the
Pacific Ocean side in Japan. It was discovered in 1973 throughjoint exploration drilling by INPEX and Esso Exploration. The
field produced gas and condensate for 23 years between the startof production in 1984 and 2007. For development of the gas
field, it was taken into account that this area has severe weather
and nautical conditions, and frequent earthquakes. Therefore,
the facilities were designed and manufactured to withstand a
100-year weather event such as a typhoon with waves up to
20 meters and wind speeds up to 62 meters per second, anda 200-year earthquake event on the level of the Great Kanto
Earthquake. Construction of the platform started in 1981. Ata height of 247 meters from the ocean floor and with a total
weight of 33,500 tons, the giant offshore facilities were completed in 1984. This was thanks to the superiority of Japan’s
industrial technologies. Drilling of the production well took
about one year from its start in February 1984, which enabled
gas production to start in July 1984. All gas and condensate
produced in the gas field was transported to the Naraha Plant
through a 40-kilometer long undersea pipeline for supply as aclean power generation fuel to the neighboring Hirono Thermal Power Station operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc.
At the initial stage recoverable gas was estimated at 3.5 billion
cubic meters. However, the reservoir turned out to be better
than expected, delivering a total of 5.6 billion cubic meters ofgas over its lifetime. After gas production ended in July 2007,

INPEX plugged and abandoned all production wells, and thenstarted preparing for conductor pipe decommissioning, andplatform decommissioning work that included washing clean
the pipeline.
During platform decommissioning, a Sapura 3000 heavy
lifting vessel was brought from Malaysia. One of only a few
in the world, the floating crane has a lifting capacity of about
2,700 tons and comes equipped with hull thrusters to enable
dynamic positioning. Work entailed (1) lifting and decommissioning the topside facilities, (2) truncation of the jacket legs
92 meters under the water surface, (3) lifting and decommissioning the two meter diameter main piles from the eight jacket
legs, (4) pumping air into the upper jacket to create a buoyancy
tank for lifting it and moving it for temporary placement on
the ocean floor, and (5) pulling down the upper jacket to be
used as a reef for fish. It was one of the largest steel platform
decommissions globally. Therefore, the work required a rangeof technical challenges to be overcome and a high level of cooperation between the company and various contractors in Japanand overseas. In July 2010, the work was completed successfully ahead of schedule, and without any accident.

INPEX formulates Corporate HSE Medium-term PlanINPEX Holdings, Inc. was established in April 2006 aheadof full integration. At the time, it determined that activities inline with an international standard HSE Management System(HSEMS) were essential for driving greater globalization of thecompany’s E&P activities. So in June of that year, INPEX defined a new Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) Policy for
the whole Group. In 2007, it established the Corporate HSE
Committee to discuss rules and requirements for building the
HSEMS. It then formulated HSEMS rules covering all health,safety and environment initiatives to properly implement thecommitment of the HSE Policy. Since then, INPEX has systematically focused on building its HSEMS while launchingvarious initiatives for ongoing improvements to environmental
and occupational safety and health aspects of operator projects.
Through this process, in February 2010, INPEX formulated its Phase 1 Corporate HSE Medium-term Plan (FY2010–2012) that aims to broaden HSE awareness and improve
the level of HSE activities. The five objectives set in the plan
2010

15

2011
Feb
Feb

were (1) Enhance cooperation with HSE staff at Operational
Organizations, (2) Improve capabilities of HSE staff througheducation and training. (3) Establish and achieve medium-term
numerical targets, (4) Acquire HSE capabilities equal to the average level among International Oil Companies (IOCs), and(5) Contribute toward preventing global warming throughgreenhouse gas emission reductions and energy-saving measures. As a result, it succeeded in dramatically raising the levelof HSE activities. They included application of the IFC performance standards and IFC guidelines to voluntary corporate
standards, establishing the INPEX 7 Safety Rules, and holding
HSE Meetings for HSE managers in Japan and overseas. And
promotion of the system of HSE awards, development of systems for responding to large-scale oil spill, and development ofearthquake response manuals in anticipation of a Tokyo inland
earthquake were also included.
The Phase 2 Corporate HSE Medium-term Plan
(FY2013–2015) established seven objectives to raise the company’s level of HSE activities to a level equal to the IOCs 1sttier group. As a result, it succeeded in further raising its ability
to execute HSE activities. Through this, voluntary standardization of Safety Cases and establishment of related management
requirements through the creation of a new team specializing
in Process Safety were achieved. In addition, dramatic improvement of LTIF and TRIR results, revision of emergency
response procedures and a corporate crisis response manual
through the adoption of an Incident Command System, andadoption of an HSE risk activity reporting system were also
provided. In 2016, INPEX formulated a new Phase 3 Corporate HSE Medium-term Plan (FY2016-2020) that followed onfrom Phase 2. The eight objectives were established to rapidly
yet steadily achieve HSE competencies on a level equal to theIOCs 1st tier group. Its eight objectives were (1) Reform the
INPEX HSEMS in accordance with the newly released IOGP
guidelines, (2) Enhance the HSE assurance and governancesystem by conducting risk-based audits and HSE reviews, (3)Enhance technical support using HSE resources, (4) Develop
HSE activities reflecting worksite feedback, (5) Commit tomajor accident prevention by promoting Process Safety management, (6) Continue monitoring and evaluating LTIF and
TRIR, (7) Improve emergency and crisis response capabilities,and (8) Drive forward management plans for reducing GHG
16

Part II First 10 years after merger

Apr
May
May
Jun
Jun
Jun

Acquired participating interest in the Walker Ridge 95/96/139/140 Blocks located in the Gulf of Mexico in the US
Confirmed gas and condensate in the Dai Nguyet structure in Blocks 05-1b &05-1c, offshore southern offshore Vietnam
The Environment Safety Unit was renamed to the HSE UNIT
Opened Rio de Janeiro Office in Brazil
Decided investment of the Toyama Line (between Itoigawa City and Toyama
City)
Final investment decision made on the Ruby gas field in the Sebuku Block inIndonesia
Agreed on joint geothermal energy development survey with Idemitsu Kosan
Co., Ltd. in Hokkaido and Akita Prefecture
Decided purchasers for entire 8.4 million tons per annum of LNG from theIchthys LNG Project

Jun Established the Health, Safety and Environmental Policy
Jul Split the Technical Division Technology Development & Support Unit into Subsurface Evaluation Unit and Field Development Unit
Jul Obtained approval for the Ichthys LNG Project Environmental Impact
Statement
Jul Undertook legal restructuring and transferred Company assets related to the
Ichthys LNG Project
Oct Commenced crude oil production from the Kitan Oil Field, Joint Petroleum
Development Area, Timor Sea (JPDA06-105)
Nov Oil sheen occurred in the vicinity of the Frade field Campos Basin, offshore
BrazilNov Acquired 100% participating interest in the Babar Selaru Block, south offshore Indonesia

Recovery support activities for the Great East Japan Earthquake at Rikuzentakata City (September 2011)

Provisional fumarolic testing of geothermal survey wells in the Oyasu area of
Yuzawa City, Akita Prefecture (November 2017)

INPEX joins Great East Japan Earthquake relief andrecovery efforts
On March 11, 2011, a huge magnitude 9.0 earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean offshore of the Tohoku region in Japan,
and with a powerful tsunami immediately afterward, 15,896 people died, and 2,537 people are still missing for as of June 10, 2018,according to the National Police Agency, resulting in massive damage and a large number of people lost their livelihood.
INPEX luckily escaped any human loss or serious property damage, but Fukushima Prefecture, with which INPEX
had a long and deep relationship through production operations at its Offshore Iwaki Gas Field, severely damaged by theearthquake, tsunami and the effects of nuclear disaster after theearthquake. INPEX’s business sites at Nagaoka City and Kashiwazaki City had previously experienced the Niigata Chuetsu
Earthquake (2004) and Niigata Chuetsu Offshore Earthquake(2007), and the company was strongly aware of the necessity ofprompt relief and support, so the following relief and recovery
efforts were immediately implemented.
• Donation of 200 million yen, plus a further 4.8 million yen

provided by INPEX Group executives and employees, to theaffected areas through the Japan Red Cross•P rovision of essential household items, including drinking
water, emergency food items, blankets and other relief goods
to affected areas (Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture)•P rovision of petroleum products, refined and manufactured
from domestic oil at an INPEX Group refinery to affectedareas (Iwaki City and Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture) due
to severe fuel shortages•P rovision of physical support such as restoration work of
town gas supplies
In July 2011, INPEX set up a paid volunteer leave system to support volunteer activities in affected areas conductedby employees, with related transport and accommodation, as
well as equipment, paid for by INPEX. In the same month, 31
employees participated in recovery work in the city of Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture. Since then, and up until December
2016, 82 restoration and recovery activities have been conducted by INPEX employees, with participation by more than
700 people.

INPEX 7 Safety Rules

emissions. During FY2016, the company successfully shared
HSE lessons on construction work by enhancing HSE technical support in Japan and overseas and holding HSE Forums.
Such efforts contributed to achieving LTIF of 0.11 and TRIR
of 0.97 which were the top 25% level of IOGP member companies; however, considering that both benchmarks started toshow an increase in FY2017, enhanced efforts have been undertaken to ensure further improvements. In April 2017, INPEX
revised its HSE Policy in line with this latest plan. Also, it once
again declared that it would work to develop an HSE culture
in which HSE is regarded as an indispensable factor in all areasof decision making, and that will be pursued on a daily basis.
The company is now also actively involved in efforts to improve
HSE performance across the whole Group, revise its HSEMSManual, and expand the scope of HSE management to its domestic subsidiaries and others.

2011

17

Nov Held the first Environmental Meeting (on Nov 28 and 29)
Nov Agreed in principle to acquire participating interest in the shale gas projects
in the Horn River, Cordova and Liard basins, British Columbia State, Canada
Dec Transferred partial participating interest in the Masela Block, Abadi Gas Field
to a subsidiary of Shell
Dec Agreement made with Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. for partial transfer of Ichthys LNG
Project equity interest
Dec Final investment decision made on the Coniston Unit located offshore Western Australia
Dec Sold interests in the West Bakr block, Egypt
Dec Joined United Nations Global Compact Initiative

Oil production started at the Kitan Oil Field

INPEX launches joint study in preparation for firstcommercial geothermal power generation project
In June 2011, INPEX and Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.
agreed to conduct the joint study, namely a geothermal power
generation feasibility study, in Amemasudake area (Akaigawa
Village and Sapporo City) of Hokkaido and the Oyasu area
(Yuzawa City) of Akita Prefecture. This was a major step towards realizing the basic INPEX strategy of Evolvement into a
company that offers diversified forms of energy, established at
the time of the business integration in 2008, INPEX had madeits first inroads into the renewable energy business. INPEX adjudicated that the discovery of subsurface geothermal resources
would allow the application of the technologies and knowledge, acquired over many years identifying and developing underground oil and gas resources, so it expected to realize strong
synergies in this new endeavor.
New Energy and Industrial Technology Development
Organization (NEDO) had already surveyed the Amemasudake and Oyasu areas to promote geothermal energy development, and had identified them as having high potential for
18

Part II First 10 years after merger

geothermal resources. Our initial surveying started in 2011,
with surface study including geological survey, gravity survey
and electro-magnetic survey. Then in July 2013, with the additional participation of Mitsui Oil Exploration Co., Ltd., thesecond stage began with drilling of geothermal exploratory
wells to survey such things as geological structure, undergroundtemperature and permeability of the reservoir. After that, thecompanies investigated commercialization, including flow testof exploratory wells at both sites.
From 2013, INPEX also started the joint study at theBandaisan area and Azuma-Adatara area of Fukushima Prefecture as a member of the Fukushima Geothermal Project Team,a group of 11 Japanese companies, with a view to geothermalenergy development.

International symposium held as part of INPEX’s endowed chair on Energy
Security and the Environment at the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of
Public Policy (November 2011)

Amemasudake area,
Hokkaido

Oyasu area,
Akita Prefecture

Sites of joint surveys on geothermal power generation

2005. INPEX overcame such difficulty and achieved its target
through combined efforts of people across the company.
Securing long-term buyers of entire LNG production
from the Ichthys LNG Project was a big step forward in obtaining the FID.

Ichthys LNG Project finalizes sales agreements
covering all LNG to be produced
In June 2011, the Ichthys Project Joint Venture reachedagreements to enter into long-term sales contracts for liquefied
natural gas (LNG) from the Ichthys LNG Project, which was
required for development of Ichthys by INPEX as operator.
The long-term sales contracts, running for 15 years from 2017,
will supply 5 Buyer Consortium consisting of Tokyo ElectricPower Co., Inc. (1.05 million tons per annum (mtpa), now
JERA Co., Inc.), Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. (1.05 mtpa), The Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. (0.80 mtpa), Osaka Gas Co., Ltd.
(0.80 mtpa), and Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc. (0.30 mtpa),
2 Buyer Consortium consisting of Chubu Electric Power Co.,
Inc. (0.49 mtpa, now JERA Co., Inc.) and Toho Gas Co., Ltd.
(0.28 mtpa), CPC Corporation, Taiwan (1.75 mtpa), Total
and INPEX (0.90 mtpa each). Then from December 2011 toJanuary 2012, the Ichthys Project Joint Venture signed legallybinding Sales and Purchase Agreements with these 10 companies. The signing of these contracts meant the Project secured
the sales of the total volume of the annual LNG production of
8.4 million tons.
This 8.4 mtpa of LNG is equivalent to over 10% of Japan’s annual LNG import volume. Approximately 70% of thisvolume will be shipped to Japanese buyers, which means the
Ichthys Project contributes to a stable energy supply to Japan.
Securing buyers for the entire LNG production was originally
expected to be difficult when INPEX started marketing in
2011

19

2012
Jan Agreed with Toho Gas Co., Ltd. and Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. for partial transfer ofIchthys LNG Project equity interest
Jan Confirmed the final investment decision on Ichthys LNG Project
Jan Acquired participating interest in the deepwater Blocks S and R, located offshore Sabah, Malaysia
Mar Acquired Ichthys LNG Project production licenses
Mar Agreed to acquire a 17.5% participating interest in the Prelude FLNG Project,offshore Australia
Mar Established Japanese GTL (Gas to Liquid) technology in commercial scale
Mar Suspended production after another seep occurred in the Frade field, Campos
Basin, offshore Brazil

Apr
Apr
Apr
May
May
May
May
Jun

Established the GHG working group under the HSE committee
Adopted IFC Performance Standards and EHS Guidelines as Corporate voluntary standards
Started construction of Toyama Line (between Itoigawa City and Toyama City)
Formulated the Medium-to Long-term Vision of INPEXAgreed partial transfer with Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. (currently JERA
Co., Inc.) for Ichthys LNG Project equity interest
Launched construction of the Ichthys LNG plant
Acquired 40% participating interest in Block 10 in Iraq
Established the New Ventures Division

Jun
Jun
Jul
Jul
Aug
Aug
Aug
Aug

20

Concluded an agreement for reciprocal backup supply of natural gas in emergencies with Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. and Shizuoka Gas Co., Ltd.
Acquired 50% participating interest in the exploration block AC/P36, offshore
Australia
Teiseki Propane Co., Ltd. and Tokyo Gas Energy CO., Ltd. were merged
Agreed partial transfer with TOTAL group companies for Ichthys LNG Project
equity interest
Acquired a 40% participating interest in shale gas projects in the Horn River,
Cordova, and Liard basins in British Columbia, Canada
Opened Calgary Office in Canada
Acquired a 7.2% participating interest in the Lucius project in the Gulf of Mexico in the US
Acquired a 9.99% indirect interest in Block 14, offshore Angola

Aug Decided to construct the large-scale photovoltaic power generation system
INPEX Mega Solar Joetsu in Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture
Aug Acquired next generation certification logo “Kurumin”
Oct Established the INPEX Advisory Committee
Oct Awarded offshore Exploration Blocks in the 27th Seaward Licensing Round inUK
Nov Acquired 26% participating interest in the exploration block KG-DWN-2004/6
in the Bay of Bengal, India
Nov Concluded a Service Contract for Exploration Block 10 in Iraq
Dec Terminated the refining business at the Kubiki Refinery of Teiseki Topping
Plant Co., Ltd.
Dec Completed the Ichthys LNG Project financing arrangements
Dec Added INPEX 7 Safety Rules to corporate voluntary standards
Dec Completed fourth phase construction work for the Shin Tokyo Line extension

Ceremony marking the final investment decision (FID)
for the Ichthys LNG ProjectPrelude FLNG vessel departing for offshore production site

Production facilities at the Offshore Angola Block 14

Members of the INPEX Advisory Committee: (front row from left) Masayuki
Yamauchi, Tsutomu Toichi, Kaori Kuroda and Kent Eyring Calder

Ichthys LNG Project announces financial investment
decision (FID)
In January 2012, the final investment decision was obtained for the Ichthys LNG Project. With INPEX participating
through one of its Australian subsidiaries, this was the first time
for a Japanese company to lead an LNG development operatorship of this scale. The project would entail liquefaction of natural gas from the Ichthys Gas-condensate Field at an onshore gasliquefaction plant built at Darwin, producing and shipping 8.4
million tons of LNG annually, and 1.6 million tons of LPG. It
would also produce and ship about 100,000 barrels of condensate per day (at its peak) from a floating production, storageand offloading (FPSO) facility and Darwin.
INPEX acquired this concession solely in 1998, after
which it conducted test drilling as the operator and then discovered the Ichthys Gas-condensate Field in 2000. From thatpoint, it spent over ten years on a range of work, starting fromthe basic front-end engineering and design (FEED) work fordevelopment, until reaching the most important milestone,
the FID. The Ichthys LNG Projects is forecast to have a long

40-year production life, which puts it at the center of INPEX’s
medium- to long-term growth strategy. For Japan as well, theproject is making an important contribution to energy stability.
The real engineering, procurement and construction(EPC) work—detailed design, materials procurement and construction—ahead of the start of production started after obtaining the FID. In May 2012, a groundbreaking ceremony
was held for the onshore gas liquefaction plant on the outskirtsof Darwin, after which full-scale construction work started forthe plant. The many guests at the ceremony included dignitaries
from the Australian Commonwealth Government, including
Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Resources, Energy and Tourism
Minister Martin Ferguson, and Northern Territory Chief Minister Paul Henderson; the Senior Vice Minister of Economy,
Trade and Industry and the Japanese Ambassador to Australia
from the Japanese Government; and many other dignitaries ofcompanies related to the project.

Australia, INPEX agreed to acquire a 17.5% participating interest in the Prelude FLNG Project being developed by RoyalDutch Shell’s subsidiary, Shell Development Australia (SDA),in the WA-44-L region offshore Western Australia. This was
one of the world’s first FLNG (floating liquefied natural gas)projects using a floating facility for gas liquefaction. In July
2011, INPEX selected Royal Dutch Shell as a strategic partnerand hoped to acquire experience and knowledge about FLNG
development for use in future LNG projects.
The Prelude FLNG Project consists of two gas fields located in Western Australia’s WA-371-P region, acquired by
Royal Dutch Shell in 2006, with the Prelude gas field discovered in 2007 and the Concerto gas field in 2009. FID was madein May 2011 with plans to develop and produce 3.6 million
tons of LNG and 400,000 tons of LPG annually at peak, and
36,000 barrels of condensate per day at peak.
Participating interests in this project were divided between
the operator SDA (67.5%), INPEX (17.5%), KOGAS (10%)
and OPIC (5%).
In June 2017, the FLNG vessel—the most importantfacility in the project—left South Korea where it was built andarrived at the site offshore Western Australia, and the Prelude
gas field started production in December 2018 after a series ofcommissioning work.

Part II First 10 years after merger

INPEX acquires stake in Prelude FLNG Project
In March 2012, through its subsidiary INPEX Oil & Gas

INPEX acquires stakes in deepwater exploration
blocks offshore Sabah, Malaysia
In January 2012, INPEX simultaneously acquired a 75%
participating interest in deepwater Block S in Sabah, Malaysia, and a 37.5% participating interest in deepwater Block R,
southwest of Block S, from Malaysia’s national oil company,
Petronas. Both blocks held promise for oil and gas discovery
because they were located in the vicinity of large oil fields suchas the Kikeh and the Gumusut fields. As INPEX’s first operator project in Malaysia, INPEX Offshore North West Sabah
worked closely with partner Petronas Carigali (PCSB), a subsidiary of Petronas, in the S Block region. Meanwhile, INPEX
Offshore South West Sabah conducted exploration activities inBlock R with the operator JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration(Deepwater Sabah) and PCSB.
2012

21

2013
Jan
Feb
Mar

The companies conducted a three-dimensional seismic
survey and other geological and geophysical studies on both
blocks before drilling wildcat wells. They eventually withdrew
from the S Block in 2016 after being unable to find oil or gas.
They discovered several oil layers at the Bestari-1 exploration
well, drilled in Block R in 2015, but withdrew from that also
because the appraisal wells were unable to confirm if there werecommercial quantities available in the reserves.
INPEX establishes MEDIUM- TO LONG-TERM VISIONIn May 2012, INPEX established its MEDIUM- TO
LONG-TERM VISION OF INPEX -Ichthys and our growth
beyond. With the FID obtained for the Ichthys LNG Projectin January of the same year, INPEX established the VISION to
set targets for achieving sustainable growth over the mediumto long-term, and for clarifying key initiatives for the next five
years leading up to the Ichthys startup.
The energy situation was changing rapidly and becoming
more complex, so there was an acute awareness of a shift toward
gas and renewable energies amid increasing demand for energy,
partnerships and acquisitions within the energy development
industry expanding dynamically, and the need to respond to
the arrival of unconventional resources and issues surrounding
safe operations and the global environment. To achieve continuous growth in this environment while focusing on the start ofproduction at Ichthys, INPEX established concrete targets toachieve three growth targets in the 2020s. It also clarified concrete measures concerning priority initiatives for the following
five years, and the necessary management policies, required foreach target. By achieving these targets, INPEX would become aleading and internationally competitive oil and gas E&P company, while growing into an integrated energy company withnatural gas at its core.
The three targets INPEX set itself were (1) Continuous

22

Part II First 10 years after merger

Apr
Apr
Apr
Apr
Apr
May

MEDIUM- TO LONG-TERM VISION OF INPEX -Ichthys and our
growth beyond

enhancement of our E&P activities (1 million barrels per day
by the early 2020s), (2) Strengthening our gas supply chain(domestic gas supplies of 2.5 billion cubic meters annuallyby the early 2020s and 3 billion cubic meters in the longterm), and (3) Reinforcement of our renewable energy initiatives (research, development and commercialization targeting
growth for the next generation). The three management policies INPEX wanted to develop were (1) Securing / developing
human resources and building an efficient organizational structure, (2) Investment for growth and return for shareholders,and (3) Responsible management as a global company.

Launched construction of the central processing facility (CPF) of the Ichthys
LNG Project in Geoje Island, Korea
Established the INPEX HR Vision
Awarded interests in the West Sebuku Block, South Makassar, offshore
Indonesia
Formulated the Corporate HSE Mid-Term Plan (Phase 2)
Merged Teiseki Topping Plant Co., Ltd., and Teiseki Transport System Co., Ltd.,and named the merged company INPEX Logistics (Japan) Co., Ltd.
Acquired 25% participating interest in the exploration block Area 2 & 5, offshore Mozambique
Obtained authorization for the restart of production activities at the Frade
Field in Campos Basin, offshore Brazil
Start of operation of INPEX Mega Solar Joetsu
Acquired 30% participating interest in exploration block Area 15, Uruguay

May
Jun
Jun
Jun
Jun
Jun
Jun
Jul

Concluded a Cooperation Agreement for Magadan 2 and 3 blocks in the Seaof Okhotsk, Russia
Established Gas Supply & Infrastructure Division (Coordination & Administration Unit, Strategy & Planning Unit, Naoetsu LNG Terminal, Pipeline Operation& Maintenance Unit, and Toyama Pipeline Construction Office)Decided to construct of new LNG vessels for Ichthys LNG Project
Succeeded in appraising the Dai Nguyet gas and condensate discovery in
Blocks 05-1b and 05-1c offshore southern Vietnam
Acquired 100% interest in the exploration Block WA-494-P, offshore Western
Australia
Started construction of Ichthys LNG Project FPSO facility in Okpo, Korea
Agreed to transfer part of the Ichthys LNG Project equity interest to CPC Corporation, Taiwan
Completed the construction of the pipeline connecting Naoetsu LNG Terminal
with the existing pipeline network

TANGGUH FOJA, the first LNG tanker docked at the Naoetsu LNG Terminal

INPEX Mega Solar Joetsu

INPEX completes construction of Naoetsu LNG
Terminal
In December 2013, INPEX held a completion ceremony
for the Naoetsu LNG Terminal. This was the company’s first
LNG receiving facility built in Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture.
With the opening of this terminal, INPEX improved its domestic gas supply capacity and stabilized its supply system by mixing LNG produced overseas and gas produced in Japan from
the Minami-Nagaoka Gas Field in Niigata Prefecture. This also
further expanded its infrastructure to achieve its target of reinforcing the gas supply chain, one of the growth targets in
INPEX’s Medium- to Long-term Vision.
Japan’s demand for gas was central to a transition awayfrom petroleum-based fuels, and there were expectations that
this transition would remain strong into the future. The FID
for the Naoetsu LNG Terminal was made in August 2008
and actual construction commenced in August 2009. With
construction proceeding smoothly, the first LNG tanker, theTANGGUH FOJA, docked in August 2013. After that, commissioning of the key facilities proceeded in turn and the terminal was opened on December 1, 2013, ahead of schedule. The

terminal includes two above-ground LNG tanks with storage
capacity of 180,000 kiloliters, a berth which enables the large
210,000 cubic meter loading class Q-flex LNG tanker to dock,vaporizers and calorific value adjustment facilities. The terminal
can supply enough gas to satisfy the annual gas needs of about
five million households.
In 2016, cryogenic LPG facility was also completed in response to moves to adjust calorific values to 45 mega joules per
cubic meter, and its operation is ongoing.
INPEX commences Mega Solar Joetsu photovoltaic
power generation in Joetsu, Niigata
In April 2013, INPEX held a completion ceremony for
INPEX Mega Solar Joetsu, the company’s first photovoltaic power
generation facility. It was also INPEX’s first commercialization
project related to its Medium- to Long-term Vision growth target of Reinforcement of our renewable energy initiatives.
INPEX used part (46,710 square meters) of the premises
owned by its subsidiary INPEX Logistics (Japan) Co., Ltd.
(INPEX Logistics) in Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture. INPEX
started installing the solar panels in October 2012, with a
2013

23

2014
Jul Started drilling exploratory wells for geothermal energy development by geothermal power generation joint venture established with Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd.
Jul Agreed to transfer part of participating interest in Block 31, offshore Suriname
to Tullow Suriname B.V.
Aug First LNG carrier arrived at Naoetsu LNG Terminal
Sep Commenced crude oil production from the Kashagan field in the Caspian Sea,
Kazakhstan
Sep Fukushima Geothermal Project Team comprised of ten companies including
INPEX commenced a joint survey for geothermal energy development at Bandaisan in Fukushima Prefecture
Sep Participated in exploration projects in Irkutsk, Russia

Acquired additional exploration license in the 27th Seaward Licensing Roundin UK
Oct Commenced production from the Ruby gas field in the Sebuku PSC in
Indonesia
Nov Established the wholly owned subsidiary INPEX Energy Trading Singapore Pte
Ltd.
Dec Completed the Naoetsu LNG Terminal
Dec Acquired 29.1667% participating interest on blocks in the Kanumas Area in
the northeastern part of offshore Greenland, Denmark

OCEANIC BREEZE naming ceremony (October 2017)

Oil production started in the offshore production facilities
at the Ruby Gas Field, Indonesia

Production facilities at the Upper Zakum Oil Field

maximum of approximately 2,000kW of electric generating capacity, and went on to start operation in April 2013.
Then in July 2015, second new photovoltaic power generation facility owned by INPEX Logistics commenced the commercial operations. With this, the total expected annual power
generation capacity of the INPEX Mega Solar Joetsu projectcame to about 5.33 million kWh per year, which is equivalent
to the annual power consumption of some 1,600 households.
When constructing the facility, a number of creative ideas
were used to improve the power generating efficiency, including
solar panels designed for snow bound region, and the foundations for the panels being increased in height to prevent accumulation of snow on the panels during winter.

the hull called “Sayaendo type.” The ultra-steam turbine plantachieves reduced transportation costs through a significant improvement in fuel efficiency. She is co-owned by INPEX SHIPPING and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. (“K” Line) for a time
charter by INPEX SHIPPING. In October 2017 at the naming
ceremony, she was named “OCEANIC BREEZE” by Toshiaki
Kitamura, then president and CEO of INPEX, and she wasdelivered in April 2018.
In May 2013, IT Marine Transport Pte. Ltd, (ITMT), a
joint venture with TOTAL, was established to transport 1.75
million tons of Ichthys LNG per annum, to be delivered to
CPC Corporation, Taiwan, through time charter agreementwith “K” Line.
Built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd., this world’s
largest Moss-type LNG ship’s specification is about 300 meters
length of perpendicular, 52 meters breadth, with tank capacityof 182,000 cubic meters. The ship features a TFDE (Tri-Fuel
Diesel Electric propulsion system, utilizing a diesel engine fueled by natural gas, marine diesel oil, or heavy fuel oil). Thissystem achieves reduced transportation costs through high fuelefficiency. In September 2017 at the naming ceremony, she wasnamed “PACIFIC BREEZE” by Jeng-Zen Fang, then vice president of CPC, and she was delivered in March 2018.

INPEX awarded extension on Upper Zakum Oil Field
concession offshore Abu Dhabi
In January 2014, the Abu Dhabi government granted
INPEX an extension of over 15 years to the Abu Dhabi Upper
Zakum Oil Field concession where it was participating in development and production through its subsidiary Japan Oil
Development Co., Ltd. (JODCO). The decision was made toextend the concession until December 2041, and the project’s
fiscal terms and conditions were revised.
JODCO started development of the Upper Zakum Oil
Field with ADNOC in 1978, and production started in 1982.
ExxonMobil joined the partnership in March 2006 through apartial transfer of ADNOC’s interest, and the field’s development and production continued. This field had become a key
oil field in Abu Dhabi, and the parties were working at the timeto increase production capacity to 750,000 barrels per day.
In November 2017, the parties agreed on a plan to further
lift production capacity in the oil field to 1 million barrels per
day by 2024. At this point the concession agreement was extended yet again by ten years, to December 2051.
The Upper Zakum Oil Field is the upper part of the
Zakum Oil Field, which is one of the largest oil fields in theworld. Because this is the most recent of Abu Dhabi’s large oil

Construction begins on LNG tankers to service Ichthys
LNG Project
In June 2013, INPEX made a decision to build and charter its first LNG ship to transport 0.9 million tons of Ichthys
LNG per annum to the INPEX Naoetsu LNG Terminal.
Built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., the specification is 288 meters length of perpendicular, 49 meters breadthwith a tank capacity of 155,300 cubic meters. The ship featurescontinuous cover over Moss spherical tanks integrated with
24

Part II First 10 years after merger

Oct

Jan

Extended the concession agreement for the Upper Zakum Oil Field, offshore
Abu Dhabi
Jan Commenced additional oil production from ACG oil fields in the Caspian Sea,
Azerbaijan (Chirag Oil Project)
Mar Decided to construct a second INPEX Group large-scale photovoltaic power
generation system in Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture
Mar Selected as the Nadeshiko Brand 2013 by the Tokyo Stock Exchange as an
outstanding enterprise in terms of encouraging the empowerment of womenin the workplace
Apr Commenced production at the South Belut Gas Field in the South Natuna Sea
Block B in Indonesia

Apr
May

Established the INPEX Values
Acquired 40% participating interest in Block WA-502-P offshore Western
Australia
May Signed Heads of Agreement on LNG sales with Tokyo Electric Power Company, Inc., and Shizuoka Gas Company, Ltd., for the Prelude FLNG Project inAustralia
May Concluded a contract with JOGMEC concerning the Commissioned Work
Support Work Related to Studies on the Basic Policy and Plan for Mediumand Long-Term Offshore Methane Hydrate Production Tests
Jun Opened Oslo office in Norway

Production platform for the Chirag Oil Project in the ACG oil fields concession
in the Caspian Sea

fields to start production, it has lots of room for expanding
production capacity in the future. Therefore, securing the longterm concession was a significant achievement for INPEX.
INPEX joins Japanese government-sanctioned methane
hydrate survey
In May 2014, INPEX, together with Japan Petroleum
Exploration Co., Ltd. (JAPEX) and Japan Drilling Co., Ltd.
(JDC), undertook a commission for Support Work Related toStudies on the Basic Policy and Plan for the Medium and LongTerm Offshore Production Test of Methane Hydrate. This wasa program being implemented by JOGMEC to promote development of methane hydrate in Japan. INPEX committed
to use the technologies, experience and know-how, developed
through its engagement for oil and natural gas exploration anddevelopment activities for the research and development ofmethane hydrate resources in Japan.
Substantial quantity of methane hydrate has been expected in the offshore areas around Japan to become a new domestic energy source to contribute to a stable national energy
supply for Japan by establishing robust production technology
for its commercialization. In 2013, the first offshore production
test was carried out to produce gas from a sand-layer methane201425