The Australian Oil & Gas Review
Ichthys economic impact revealed
THE INPEX-LED Ichthys project will deliver “transformative” benefits to the Australian economy out to 2050, including $73 billion in tax revenue for State and Federal Governments and more than 1800 jobs per annum, according to new data.
The economic impact assessment report by ACIL Allen Consulting, commissioned by INPEX, examined the project’s contribution to the Northern Territory, WA and Commonwealth economies since construction began in 2012 through to 2050.
“in TERMS Of COMPARISONS —THAT $5.8 BILLION REGENERATED OUT Of THE PROJECT EACH AND Every year is GREATER THAN THE TOTAL EXPORTS produced by THE STATE Of TASMANIA."
It found $5.8 billion of Australian liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and condensate exports would be derived from the project each year across the study period, $190 billion in additional GDP generated, and $73 billion in tax revenue for State and Federal Governments in Australia; an average of $1.9 billion per annum.
“That is quite a sizable number over all,” ACIL Allen Consulting executive director John Nicolaou said.
“In terms of comparisons – that $5.8 billion regenerated out of the project each and every year is greater than the total exports produced by the State of Tasmania; it’s greater than Australia’s total wheat exports in 2015-16, and it will almost double the Northern Territory’s exports once it becomes operational.
“So we are talking about a transformational change in our export profile because of this project.”
Mr Nicolaou said the firm took a conservative approach when undertaking the assessment, incorporating a carbon price, and omitting any future expansions beyond what had already been announced.
“We’ve based the pricing around an exchange rate based on the long term average of about 76 US cents in Australian dollar terms, and the oil price has been based on the official forecast produced by the EIA,” he said.
“All capital and operating expenditure and production forecasts have been provided to us on a confidential basis by INPEX.”
INPEX president director Australia Seiya Ito said the assessment outlined the scale of the project and the economic benefits that would flow into the Australian economy across its 40 year operating life.
“INPEX has been a proud member of the Australian business community for more than 30 years, and through the Ichthys LNG Project we will be here for the long haul,” Mr Ito said.
“The assessment from ACIL Allen demonstrates INPEX’S commitment to creating Australian jobs, building the capacity of Australian.”
At its peak, the project will produce and ship about 8.9 million tons of LNG and 1.65 million tons of LPG each year, and 100,000 barrels of condensate per day.
The project was now more than 90 per cent complete and was expected to begin shipping condensate from its offshore facilities and LNG and LPG from its Darwin plant in 2018.