Japan’s Inpex said on Monday it would make additional condensate cargoes available to Australian refiners from its Ichthys liquefied natural gas project in Darwin, as Australia grapples with fuel security since the beginning of the US-Israel war against Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
A 630,000-barrel cargo for loading late this month will arrive at an unnamed refinery in May. Inpex said the product can be blended and then turned into petrol, diesel or jet fuel. Australia only has two refineries, both on the east coast.
Inpex said it will make a second cargo available, “in coming months”. It has supplied 30 condensate cargoes to Australia’s refineries since the LNG project's start up in 2019. Condensate is a light oil that often comes as an associated product with natural gas.
On Saturday, Energy Minister Chris Bowen provided his weekly update on Australian fuel stocks, telling the nation Australia had 38 days’ of petrol, 31 days’ of diesel and 28 days’ of jet fuel with 57 tankers on their way to Australia.
Inpex is facing potential strike action at the Ichthys facility from unions next month.
(Reporting by Helen Clark; Editing by Eileen Soreng)
