Japanese gas giant Inpex has been charged by an environmental regulator for under-reporting toxic emissions released only kilometres from residential areas.
The Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority is prosecuting after Inpex told the regulator in October 2025 it significantly under-reported levels of emissions from its Ichthys facility near Darwin.
"The charges relate to failure to comply with a condition of the licence by under-reporting benzene and toluene emissions between 2019 and 2024," the authority said in a statement on Wednesday.
The gas facility is visible from the NT capital across Darwin Harbour.
Under an environmental protection licence granted in 2017, Ichthys LNG is required to annually report total tonnes of air emissions to the regulator.
Following the under-reporting, the regulator recommended changes to the licences of Inpex and fellow gas giant Santos.
Environment Centre NT senior climate campaigner Bree Ahrens said the regulator had done the right thing by the Darwin community in standing up to the gas industry.
"This is a massive win for Darwin residents who have been exposed to toxic pollution from the gas industry for far too long," she said in a statement.
"Finally, we see Inpex being held accountable for massively under-reporting the amount of toxic pollution it's pumping into Darwin's air."
NT Environment Minister Josh Burgoyne said the decision to prosecute showed the regulator was working appropriately to protect the environment and the broader community.
A suite of regulatory responses was in place to address Inpex's under reporting and broader management of hydrocarbon activities in Darwin Harbour, he said.
That included strengthened licence terms and conditions of LNG facilities to ensure human health risks from air emissions were addressed.
The government was progressing legislation to establish a monitoring scheme to give Territorians more accessible information on air quality and emissions in the Darwin region, Mr Burgoyne said in a statement.
"As the matter is now before the courts, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the specific allegations or the legal proceedings," he said.
The investigation that led to the decision to prosecute is part of a suite of regulatory responses to address Inpex's under-reporting and broader management of hydrocarbon activities in Darwin Harbour.
This includes the NT EPA's announcement on Friday recommending strengthening licence terms and conditions of LNG facilities to ensure human health risks from air emissions are adequately addressed.
Inpex has been contacted for comment.
