Nov 6 (LNGJ) - Inpex Corp., the largest Japanese exploration and production company and an Australian LNG plant operator, reported an almost 30 percent fall in nine-month sales to 592.79 billion yen ($5.72Bln) and reported a net loss of 125.42Bln yen ($1.21Bln) during the period compared with a profit last year of 121.66Bln yen ($1.17Bln). Inpex, which is operator of the Ichthys plant at Bladin Point near Darwin and is also a shareholder in Prelude FLNG, as well as being a partner Royal Dutch Shell in an onshore project for Indonesia, said the earnings drop was due to weak energy prices, leading it to write-down some assets values.
“The average sales price of overseas crude oil decreased by US$25.83, or 39.7 percent, to US$39.30 per barrel. In addition, the average sales price of overseas natural gas decreased by US$0.48, or 11.5 percent, to US$3.70 per thousand cubic feet. Meanwhile, the average sales price of domestic natural gas decreased by 6.19 yen, or 11.1 percent, to 49.71 yen per cubic metre,” Inpex explained.
