Inpex ‘committed’ to further expanding Darwin investment
INPEX Australia says despite the current headwinds affecting the world’s gas sector, it is committed to expanding its investment in Darwin and Australia as soon as it is prudent to do so.
Northern Territory
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INPEX Australia says despite the current headwinds affecting the world’s gas sector, it is committed to expanding its investment in Darwin and Australia as soon as it is prudent to do so.
Inpex’s general manager NT, Roland Houareau, says Australia is a cornerstone of Inpex’s international growth.
“We are committed to our future here,” Mr Houareau said.
“Inpex is committed to contributing to the communities in which we operate. Nowhere is this commitment stronger than in Darwin.
“We are committed to a predominantly residential workforce at our facilities in Darwin.
“We have employed an additional 150 workers, all local, on a maintenance and asset preservation campaign, which will run for at least five years.”
Mr Houareau said recent speculation about the size of cuts in Darwin caused by the COVID-19 pandemic downturn were overstated.
“Like many other businesses, Inpex has faced significant challenges during 2020 due to the combined effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the oil price collapse earlier in the year,” he said.
“The low oil price environment has accelerated a review of our organisation – across all locations in Australia not just Darwin – to support the future Ichthys LNG operating model.
“Since April, we have been engaging with employees about transforming our business to adapt to the new commercial realities.”
Mr Houareau said claims more than 60 jobs would disappear from Darwin were wrong.
“We have worked to minimise the impact on our workforce but, regrettably, a small number of redundancies have been unavoidable,“ he said.
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“Our focus has been on the safety of our personnel, keeping our facilities safe and maintaining production.
“Inpex has supported voluntary redundancies across the business.
“We recognise this is a very difficult time for the people affected and have offered counselling and support services to our personnel.”
Mr Houareau said Inpex remained focused on the long-term opportunities ahead.
“In Darwin, we have recently successfully reached a milestone of 200 LNG cargoes since the first LNG cargo departed nearly two years ago from Bladin Point,” he said.
“We also have a major work scheduled in Darwin next year which will provide an economic boost for the Territory. Safely operating our Ichthys LNG facilities for the next 40 years or more is our top priority.
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“Inpex is proud to be a part of the Northern Territory community and we are here for the long haul.
“Inpex will continue to be vigilant in our response to the COVID-19 pandemic with the principal objective of protecting the health and wellbeing of our teams and the communities in which we operate and the business continuity of our assets.”
Originally published as Inpex ‘committed’ to further expanding Darwin investment