Inpex to invest $38 billion as it outlines decarbonisation plans

Japan's biggest oil and gas explorer will invest up to $38 billion in growth areas over the next nine years, with a large chunk to be spent on decarbonisation, its chief executive has said.

Among Inpex Corp’s key thrust areas will be hydrogen and ammonia, Chief Executive Takayuki Ueda told a news briefing. “As a pioneer in energy transformation, we aim to provide a stable supply of diverse and clean energy sources including oil and natural gas, hydrogen and renewable power,” Ueda said.

The firm intends to allocate $8.66 billion of the total investment plan to the decarbonisation projects.

As part of the new long-term business plan, the company plans to invest in LNG as a key growth fuel while focusing on reducing CO₂ emissions, Ueda added.

Inpex, which has set a target of commercial hydrogen production capacity of more than 100,000tpa by 2030, will also focus on developing offshore wind and geothermal power projects to increase its renewable production capacity to up to 2GW. It plans to use carbon capture and utilisation and storage (CCUS) technology to inject 2.5 million tonnes of CO₂ a year, by the end of this decade.

By selecting its investments in oil projects, Inpex aims to ensure production and early cost recovery, despite the uncertainty in the long-term demand outlook, Ueda said.