Moody's downgraded Inpex earlier this month over uncertainties relating to the Ichthys LNG project after the Japanese company announced the project would be delayed by three quarters and would cost 10% more.
Inpex announced recently that Ichthys' production had been delayed from towards the end of December 2016, when it was initially expected to go online, to the July-September quarter in 2017.
A recent technical evaluation of the entire LNG production system also prompted the Japanese multinational to lift the project's annual LNG production capacity by about 6% from 8.4 million tonnes per annum to 8.9MMtpa.
Inpex joint venture manager Bill Townsend, however, confirmed to Energy News that the Japanese multinational was forecasting more than 8000 people would be working on site by early next year in Darwin, including Inpex employees and contracted personnel, project contractors and sub-contractors.
Ichthys project engineering contractor JKC Australia recently advised that about 400 personnel would be "demobilised" in a staged manner during early August through to late September as more civil subcontracts are completed and the Bladin Point onshore works for the $US34 billion project progress in the mechanical, electrical and commissioning phases of construction.
However, Inpex is sticking to that rough 8000 figure for early next year, as the job cuts by JKC are a natural part of the process as contracts wind up.
JKC is a joint venture between KBR, JGC Corporation and Chiyoda Corporation.
Townsend told Energy News that aside from the hit to the corporate side, low oil prices have actually benefited the Ichthys project.
"For us the oil price, from a construction point of view, has a positive impact, as we've seen an easing of the market in contractor pricing and rig rates," Townsend said.
"At the same time, we're now probably as committed, if not more committed, to deliver the project, as we need to get the project up and running as quickly as possible. So our workforce numbers have not gone down at all. In fact, they've gone up a bit over time.
"We've had a higher participation rate by local workforce and also, in turn, a higher participation rate among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people."
Inpex also has 2000 employees in Perth's CBD, which makes its office on St George's Terrace the Japanese multinational's biggest office in the world.
