INPEX Selects NAPA for LNG Carrier Fleet

Japan's largest oil and gas exploration and production company INPEX Corporation has installed ClassNK-NAPA GREEN for monitoring operations on three of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers.

NAPA said that Inpex awarded a deal to the company for the provision of a solution for monitoring and follow-up of ship operations on two LNG carriers built to service the Ichthys project and one LNG carrier for Shell’s Prelude FLNG project.

With the core motivation of accurately verifying the technical performance of these highly complex carriers, INPEX chose ClassNK-NAPA GREEN for the combination of NAPA’s LNG carrier design understanding and market leading performance monitoring software.

The Oceanic Breeze, Pacific Breeze, and Symphonic Breeze are amongst the world’s largest MOSS-type LNG carriers and ClassNK-NAPA GREEN will enable INPEX to monitor how well the promises made by their shipbuilders match the reality of operations, as well as the carriers’ performance over time.

Akihiko Itoh, Manager of Transportation group, LNG Trading Unit at INPEX said: “The propulsion system of an LNG carrier is far more complex than that of any other vessel type, which is why a fundamental understanding of elements including the cargo containment and management systems, as well as the ultra steam turbine is critical to efficiency. From system configuration to setting KPIs, NAPA’s in-depth LNG knowledge, spanning design, engineering and operations enables us to effectively collaborate with them for transparent fleet performance and voyage reporting that delivers genuine value.”

With offshore production facilities located in the Browse Basin, about 200 kilometres off the coast of Western Australia, Ichthys is one of the world’s most complex LNG projects, and is expected to operate for the next 40 years.

At full capacity Ichthys will produce 8.9 million tonnes of LNG per year, along with about 1.65 million tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas and about 100,000 barrels per day of condensate at peak. Ichthys adds a major new source of LNG supply equivalent to more than 10% of the annual LNG import volume of Japan – the world’s largest LNG importer.

INPEX has a major stake in Ichthys LNG Project. Other shareholders include CPC Corporation, Taiwan and Japanese utilities Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas, Kansai Electric Power, JERA and Toho Gas.