Australian Regulator Seeks Tougher Pollution Rules for Darwin LNG Plants
Key Takeaways
- •The NT EPA proposed 23 recommendations targeting Santos' Darwin LNG and Inpex's Ichthys LNG facilities following Inpex's significant upward revision of its 2023/24 emissions estimates.
- •Inpex's internal review revealed discrepancies in previously reported emissions of volatile organic compounds, including benzene, a known carcinogen linked to leukemia.
- •The regulator's recommendations include numerical emission limits, stricter hot venting controls, mandatory five-year audits, and continuous real-time monitoring of acid gas streams at Ichthys LNG.
- •The two LNG facilities combined account for approximately 10 percent of annual LNG imports for Japan and Taiwan, meaning new compliance measures could impact regional gas supply chains.
- •The proposed changes come amid growing international pressure on the LNG industry to improve emissions transparency and reduce health and climate impacts of gas production.
Two of Australia's largest LNG projects, operated by Santos and Inpex, could face stricter environmental and pollution reporting requirements after the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority (NT EPA) put forward 23 recommendations to address prior under-reporting of emissions.
The NT EPA, the regional regulator of the territory that hosts Inpex's Ichthys LNG and Santos' Darwin LNG facilities, has released the findings of its review of the Darwin Airshed LNG Licences.
The review was launched last year after Inpex significantly revised upward its 2023/24 emissions estimates — including benzene — raising community concerns about potential human health impacts. Benzene is classified as a carcinogen by the World Health Organization, and prolonged exposure has been linked to leukemia and other blood disorders.
In October 2025, Inpex, operator of the Ichthys LNG facility in Darwin, substantially increased its emissions estimates for the 2023/24 period after reassessing its estimation methods.
Inpex's internal review examined emissions calculations from Ichthys LNG for the 2024 financial year and found discrepancies between previously reported and actual emissions levels. The discrepancies included total volatile organic compounds (VOCs), benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene.
"INPEX takes full accountability for these unintentional errors which have been reported to the NT EPA," the company stated at the time.
In response to the upward revision, the NT EPA conducted its own review and developed 23 recommendations covering the Darwin Airshed and the licences for both Ichthys LNG and Darwin LNG. The recommendations include applying numerical emission concentration limits and maximum mass emission rates for pollutants, imposing stricter limits on hot venting, and requiring an audit every five years to verify that facilities are implementing best-practice pollution control measures.
For Ichthys LNG specifically, the NT EPA recommends installing continuous monitoring equipment for the acid gas stream, capable of measuring benzene and other pollutants of concern in real time.
Combined, Ichthys LNG and Darwin LNG account for approximately 10% of the annual LNG imports of Japan and Taiwan. Australia is one of the world's largest LNG exporters, and any operational constraints or compliance costs resulting from the proposed measures could have implications for regional gas supply chains. The NT EPA's recommendations come amid broader international pressure on the LNG industry to improve emissions transparency and reduce the climate and health footprint of gas production and processing.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com