Mr Barnett has said that he hopes to convince Inpex to build an $A700 million supply base at Point Torment to service its development of the Ichthys project and potentially other gas fields.

“It is basically a port specific to their project, although we will ensure that should another project wish to use that supply base in the future, that capacity will be in place.

“This is not seen as a broad export port. It is a supply base to an individual project for taking equipment and machinery backwards and forwards. If the state assists, we may well build the access road out to the port and we may make some land available,” Mr Barnett said.

Inpex has previously elected to construct an 800 km subsea pipeline from the Ichthys Gas Field, located in the Browse Basin, to Blaydin Point on the Middle Arm Peninsula in Darwin, Northern Territory. The associated Ichthys gas plant is expected to produce 8 million tonnes per annum of LNG.