Inpex Corp., Japan's largest energy exploration company, won Indonesian government approval to develop the Masela liquefied natural gas project.
"I have signed off on the plan of development for Masela by Japan's Inpex," Purnomo Yusgiantoro, Indonesia's energy and mineral resources minister, told reporters in Jakarta Wednesday.
The government approved a plan to build a 4.5 million metric ton a year floating plant that may start operating in 2016, Purnomo said. The production capacity at the Masela field, located in Indonesia's Timor Sea, may be expanded later to reach 9 million tons of LNG a year, Purnomo said.
Nico Muhyiddin, Inpex's Jakarta-based new ventures and asset management manager, declined comment.