Japanese Gas Giant Inpex Prosecuted in Australia for Long-Term Underreporting of Carcinogens Including Benzene

Japanese gas giant Inpex is facing criminal prosecution from Australia's Northern Territory environmental regulator for long-term underreporting of toxic emissions at the Ichthys liquefied natural gas facility it operates in Darwin. According to ABC News, an independent audit commissioned by the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority (NT EPA) confirmed that Inpex had previously failed to accurately report emissions of multiple toxic substances, including benzene. Benzene is classified by the World Health Organization as a Group 1 carcinogen.

The audit, conducted by consultancy AECOM, found that Inpex had taken "significant measures" to correct the emission underreporting, while also acknowledging that historical emission data errors had not all been rectified. The audit lead, Todd Mitchell, made clear that the audit did not include independent on-site inspections and that its conclusions relied on public documents as well as information provided by Inpex itself. This limitation meant the audit could only make limited judgments on whether Inpex had deliberately falsified data — the report ultimately concluded there was no evidence of intentional fabrication.

The report also revealed multiple persistent reporting gaps. The audit pointed out that the facility had failed to report toxic pollutants such as mercury across multiple emission sources; emissions from docked vessels continued to use industry-average estimates from the Technical Manual on Estimation of Emissions from Maritime Operations rather than direct measurements. Inpex's emission data had long been aggregated using internal spreadsheet tools and is currently transitioning to a so-called "advanced" environmental data management system.

Inpex's scheduled first court appearance was postponed to November. In July this year, the NT EPA had already recommended revisions to Inpex's emission permit, including the setting of specific pollution limits, as part of multi-pronged measures to strengthen oversight of the company.

In its defense, Inpex senior vice president Bill Townsend emphasized that ongoing air quality monitoring in the Darwin area shows emission levels are "consistently well below government standards," meaning the Ichthys LNG facility "has not posed an elevated health risk to the community, local employees or the environment." Townsend said the audit highlighted the actions the company had taken to correct "unintentional errors" in calculating and reporting emissions.

However, Northern Territory Environment Centre climate campaigner Dan Broun pushed back against Townsend's defense: "The very fact that ongoing audits are needed shows Inpex has not got a handle on Ichthys's emissions and cannot be trusted on Darwin air quality." He noted that Inpex "still has a lot of work to do," including reducing emissions, properly monitoring them, and reporting them accurately.

Mitchell's acknowledgment that "no independent on-site inspections were conducted," combined with the audit's acceptance of industry-average estimates for emissions from docked vessels, means that even as the regulator has launched criminal proceedings against Inpex, verification of the Japanese gas giant's emissions still largely relies on data it provides itself.