OREANDA-NEWS. Japanese oil and natural gas firm Inpex is continuing to pursue the Abadi LNG export project in Indonesia, despite Jakarta's decision to move the liquefaction process onshore.

Abadi was planned to be a floating liquefaction (FLNG) project with a capacity of 7.5mn t/yr. But the Indonesian government instructed Inpex to move the project onshore in April.

"The company's policy of aiming for the early start-up of development remains unchanged, and Inpex will pursue the implementation of the project in the most economically and technically rational way, in close co-operation with its partner Shell and the Indonesian authorities," Inpex said in its annual report today.

Inpex holds a 65pc share of the project, while Shell has the rest.

The original plan was for a 2.5mn t/yr FLNG project fed by gas from the offshore Masela gas block. But subsequent drilling revealed a larger-than-expected gas reserve, which resulted in a proposed larger 7.5mn t/yr FLNG project.

The company is also progressing on the 8.9mn t/yr Ichthys LNG project offshore Western Australia. "The company has finished the delivery and installation of all the modules of the first train and is currently carrying out connection work. As of June 2016, the installation of 90pc of the more than 200 modules had been completed," it said.