Inpex to decide on Ichthys LNG project in late 2010

TOKYO, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Japan's top oil and gas explorer Inpex Corp (1605.T) said it would make a final investment decision on its giant Ichthys liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in northwest Australia in late 2010.

Inpex had previously said the investment decision would be made sometime in 2010. A company source indicated that the decision might be pushed back slightly, to 2011.

Design work for the offshore facilities in the Ichthys field that began in April will take about 18 months, longer than the 12 months initially projected, a company spokesman said.

Inpex reiterated its plans to begin production in 2015. Inpex has a 76 percent stake in the project, and France's Total SA (TOTF.PA) holds the rest.

The LNG plant will be built in the city of Darwin in northwest Australia.

LNG output from the Ichthys project is expected to top 8 million tonnes a year, equal to more than a tenth of Japan's imports, in addition to 1.6 million tonnes a year of liquefied petroleum gas and up to 100,000 barrels a day of condensate at peak output. (Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Joseph Radford)