We strive to procure goods from suppliers in a transparent, fair, and responsible manner. We have established Guidelines for Fair Business Conduct with Suppliers and Contractors, Detailed Regulations for Procurement, and a Procedure for Handling Procurement, and post these and other guidelines on the intranet to communicate their content to Group employees and promote their implementation.

The Guidelines for Fair Business Conduct with Suppliers and Contractors prohibit practices that would impede fair and free competition, abuse dominant bargaining positions, or inappropriately grant or receive benefits. In addition, they stipulate the protection of confidentiality regarding suppliers’ personal information and technologies. All departments involved in procurement processes adhere to these guidelines not only as a guiding policy but also as part of our code of conduct.

When selecting suppliers, we always strive to ensure fair and open participation opportunities for prospective suppliers. In the evaluation phase, we assess not only technological capacity, quality, and credibility, but also health, safety, and environmental (HSE) initiatives and efforts to be a socially responsible supplier.

When accepting bids and placing orders for large-scale projects in Japan, such as the Naoetsu LNG Receiving Terminal and pipeline construction, we apply the Guidelines for Fair Business Conduct with Suppliers and Contractors to ensure fair and responsible procurement and also assess HSE initiatives as part of our evaluations.

The INPEX Group strives to procure goods in a fair and responsible manner not only in Japan but also when developing its overseas projects. By complying with national laws when selecting new suppliers for overseas business, we make sure that such suppliers are not engaged in business that jeopardizes the rights of indigenous peoples or practicing child or forced labor. While our overseas project operations are unlikely to engage in child or forced labor due to the many advanced technical skills they require, we will enforce our human rights policy in procurement activities by adding a human rights component to our Corporate Social Responsibility Policy.

Procurement Activities in Indonesia

At the Abadi Gas Field development project, we strive to procure materials and services in a fair and transparent manner. We comply with the various laws, regulations, and guidelines promulgated in Indonesia that apply to procurement, and practice open bidding as a basic policy that particularly aims to prevent corruption and secure competitiveness, thereby providing a broad spectrum of companies with opportunities to participate. We have established an in-house bid evaluation committee to conduct fair and appropriate evaluations and make procurements that achieve a proper balance between quality and price.

Procurement Activities in Australia

INPEX Australia’s Supplier Relationship Program is an important part of the Company’s sourcing activities. It ensures locally-owned, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses are provided full, fair and reasonable opportunity to participate.
The key strength of our program is the strong business case that underpins the investment into a diverse supply base, essentially strengthening competition, innovation, and flexibility, thus increasing our competitive advantage as we aim to deliver sustainable economic development in the areas of operation.