INPEX Australia has given its strongest indication yet that it may pursue a stake in the long-delayed Greater Sunrise gas project, with the company’s Vision 2035 strategy aligned toward expanding LNG infrastructure in Darwin.

Speaking at the Energy Club WA in Perth, INPEX Australia's Senior Vice President Corporate, Bill Townsend, confirmed the company is actively seeking new gas feedstock to backfill its Ichthys LNG operations in Northern Australia and meet rising energy demand from Asian markets particularly Japan and Taiwan.

Townsend also described LNG as a "deployable now" solution for rapidly growing markets such as Vietnam and Indonesia—comments that, perhaps unintentionally, cast the Greater Sunrise Gas Field in a new strategic light. The undeveloped field, holding an estimated 5.1 trillion cubic feet of gas and 226 million barrels of condensate, lies north-west of Darwin, which is close to INPEX's Ichthys LNG project. 

Australia now accounts for a large chunk of INPEX's global revenue, and the company is expanding its footprint.  

INPEX has participated in the Sunrise Joint Venture's Development Concept Study process since February 2023.

In May 2024, INPEX opened a Timor-Leste office and held high-level talks with Minister Agio Pereira, reaffirming its interest in Sunrise and signalling a willingness to contribute capital and technical leadership. 

While INPEX has yet to formally declare its intent to join the Woodside-led Sunrise venture or file a production sharing application, Townsend's focus on supporting Indo-Pacific energy security suggests the company is firming up policy conditions to enable further Japanese investment. 

He emphasised INPEX's credibility, citing more than $60 billion invested in Ichthys LNG, and its strategic importance as a Japanese government-backed energy provider to the Indo-Pacific region. 

With Timor-Leste reiterating its openness to foreign participation and newly admitted into ASEAN, analysts say a regulatory breakthrough could shift momentum rapidly.

A spokesperson for INPEX told Energy News Bulletin: "We understand the imperative to providing the most meaningful benefits to the people of Timor-Leste."

Source: Energy News Bulletin