Reuters are reporting that Japan’s Inpex Corp halted construction work on 30 November at an onshore site in Australia for the huge Ichthys LNG project after a worker died in an accident there.
“INPEX Operations Australia Pty Ltd sincerely regrets to confirm a serious incident occurred at its Bladin Point construction site in Darwin at approximately 8 pm last night, that resulted in the death of a worker,” the company said in a statement.
The Ichthys project, led by Inpex, is both Japan’s biggest overseas investment and first LNG megaproject. It is more than a year behind its original target, with first production now expected by March 2018.
Costs have ballooned more than 10% to around US$37 billion since the project was approved in 2012.
The development is co-owned by Inpex, France’s Total SA, Taiwan’s CPC Corp, and Japanese gas and power companies.