Air quality in the Darwin airshed is affected by multiple natural and man-made emission sources, including transport, heavy industry, fuel storage, bushfires and power generation.
The NT EPA regulates air emissions from some major industries in the Northern Territory through Environment Protection Licences (EPLs) under the Waste Management and Pollution Control Act 1998.
The Territory’s 2 major liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing plants in the Darwin airshed, INPEX’s Ichthys LNG and Santos’ Darwin LNG facilities, are licensed under this regime.
EPL 228 and EPL 217, respectively, contain conditions that regulate emissions and provide monitoring and reporting requirements for these facilities.
This webpage provides access to information related to the NT EPA’s activities to manage pollutant emissions from these facilities. It is updated as new information becomes available.
NT EPA LNG licence review
In March 2026, the NT EPA initiated a review of licence conditions for the LNG industry in the Darwin airshed.
The review aimed to update licences so their conditions continue to protect human health, reflect current best practice in air quality management and support community engagement and transparency.
The review was completed in July 2026, read the Darwin Airshed LNG Licence Review PDF (2.6 MB).
The changes will be implemented over the remainder of 2026.
Chief health officer human health risk assessment
The chief health officer commissioned an independent human health risk assessment for the Darwin airshed in response to revised emissions estimates for air pollutants from the Ichthys facility, provided by INPEX on 23 October 2025. To read the revised estimates, search by date on the INPEX website.
The review found that, based on available modelling and monitoring data, current levels of BTEX emissions are well below evidence-based safety thresholds and very low risk to human health.
Read the summary fact sheet PDF (844.9 KB).
Read the full report PDF (3.2 MB).
NT EPA INPEX emissions modelling review
At the same time, the NT EPA commissioned an independent review of INPEX’s modelling of air quality in the Darwin airshed following the revised pollutant estimates.
The review found that INPEX’s modelling was technically sound and made recommendations for further modelling to address cumulative emissions.
Read the summary fact sheet PDF (128.2 KB).
Read the full report PDF (3.9 MB).
To protect the health of residents of the Darwin airshed, the EPA has endorsed the recommendations of the review and has initiated further actions.
For more information, read NTEPA news.
Statutory audit of INPEX emissions estimation methodology
The NT EPA has issued INPEX with an audit notice pursuant to section 48 of the Act. INPEX must engage an auditor to examine the adequacy of systems, processes and procedures to accurately estimate emissions. The audit notice can be viewed on the public register.
Related media releases and regulatory statements
The NT EPA has released the following media and regulatory statements in relation to air emissions in the Darwin airshed:
- Release of the LNG Licence Review: NT EPA Media Statement (30 July 2026)
- Joint statement from NT EPA and chief health officer (27 February 2026)
- Media release: emissions reporting from Ichthys LNG facility (17 October 2025)
- Emissions reporting from Ichthys LNG facility (23 October 2025)
- INPEX pollutant emissions underreporting: joint statement from NT EPA and chief health officer (23 December 2025)
- NTEPA Regulatory Statement: Regulation of LNG and other Emissions (18 April 2024)