Response to Feedback from Stakeholders

Establishment of Various Inquiry and Grievance Mechanisms

INPEX operates various inquiry and grievance mechanisms to be accessible to all stakeholders. We consider protecting the privacy of whistle-blowers and those who consult us, and we also accept feedback anonymously.

Development and Operation of Internal Whistle-blowing System

In terms of the internal whistle-blowing system, we have set up a helpline for receiving all reports and consultations – including those related to discrimination, human rights, and harassment – in Japanese and English. We have also launched the INPEX Global Hotline with support in roughly 20 languages, including local languages of the areas in which we operate. The structure regarding our whistle-blowing system is detailed below. The helpline has internal and external (law firm) contact points, while the INPEX Global Hotline is wholly administered by an external service provider. Reporting and consulting can be completed anonymously. Taking into consideration the environment of all kinds of whistle-blowers, methods such as email, telephone, and mail can be used.

When investigating whistle-blower reports or consultations, our internal Whistle-blowing Rules prohibit disadvantageous treatment of whistle-blowers. We are also committed to protecting whistle-blowers from any negative consequences, such as conducting training for personnel involved in whistle-blowing operations in INPEX and whistle-blowing contact points at our subsidiaries. If investigation results confirm harassment or other compliance violations, we will take corrective actions, including disciplinary actions, and implement recurrence prevention measures, including conducting training and raising internal awareness.

Please refer to Response to Whistle-blower Reports for other details on our whistle-blowing system.

Establishment and Operation of Whistle-blowing System for External Stakeholders

At all our sites in Japan and overseas, we take local community feedback seriously, recording, managing, and addressing it diligently. At our main sites located in Japan, Australia, Indonesia, and Abu Dhabi, we receive feedback via diverse channels according to the region or project. This includes telephone, email, letter, and face-to-face dialogue with our office representatives.

Inquiry and Grievance Management

We recognize grievances may arise from external stakeholders in relation to our business activities. We have defined a process for identifying, investigating, and resolving any such external grievances, and we conduct dialogue with local communities and other stakeholders. Feedback received is shared between relevant personnel and used to monitor local community sentiment. We strive to identify any new areas of concern as early as possible and minimize potential risks. Should we receive grievances from local communities, we respond in the local language and follow our established procedures to ascertain the facts and provide appropriate responses, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.

No grievances requiring corrective actions were received at any of our sites during FY2024.

Example of Flow for Responding to Grievances and Inquiries

Feedback from Local Communities

Below is the breakdown of inquiries and feedback from local communities, received during FY2024 in line with our external stakeholder response procedures, at sites where we act as the project operator.

Breakdown of Inquiries and Feedback from Local Communities in Japan, Australia, and Indonesia in FY2024

Labor-management Meetings

The INPEX Labor Union is made up of a central head office and branches and has established its branches at our five key sites in Japan. Furthermore, the central head office manages and handles seconded employees in Japan and other sites without branches. The central head office and branches engage in close communication and dialogue regarding labor-management issues through biannual central labor-management meetings and labor-management meetings by five branches. Union officers go on-site to overseas sites once per year to engage in direct discussions with personnel dispatched overseas. They conduct local labor and living condition studies, perform document-based fact-finding studies for areas they were unable to visit in person, and share information regarding actual conditions at overseas sites and requests from locally stationed personnel with the Company (the head office Human Resources Unit and overseas offices) to address problems and make improvements.

Active Community Consultation

As of the end of 2024, community consultations have been conducted for 100% of the 37 production/operation projects in which we hold interests (including 27 oil and natural gas projects) as well as all 6 development/construction projects (including 1 oil and natural gas project). The projects where we serve as the operator are listed below:

Production Assets/Operating Sites

• Ichthys LNG Project (Darwin, Australia)
• Naoetsu LNG Receiving Terminal and pipeline network (Niigata, Japan)
• Minami Nagaoka Gas Field (Niigata, Japan)
• Naruto Gas Field (Chiba, Japan)
• Yabase Oil Field (Akita, Japan)
• INPEX Mega Solar Joetsu (Niigata, Japan)

Development/Construction Projects

• Abadi LNG Project (Indonesia)
• Katatsumuri Yama Power Plant Geothermal Power Project (Akita, Japan)

At our head office and overseas offices, we hold regular meetings to address common and emerging environmental, social, and governance issues and share the latest information about stakeholder engagement in each jurisdiction for the development of future action plans.

Japan

We engage in dialogue with local stakeholders of our operational sites in Japan (Niigata, Minamiaga, Nagaoka, Kashiwazaki, Joetsu, Akita, and Chiba) through contact points for local communities.

Every year, we actively participate in community events, including providing sponsorship and volunteer support for a marathon in Kashiwazaki. Additionally, we sponsor firework displays at summer festivals in Niigata, Nagaoka, Kashiwazaki, Joetsu, and Akita. Collaborating with residents of Nagaoka, we contribute to environmental conservation through a semiannual reforestation project. Furthermore, the Naoetsu LNG Terminal – the core facility of our gas supply chain and the receiving terminal for LNG shipped from Ichthys LNG in Australia – publishes a bimonthly newsletter for local residents, municipal offices, and government agencies to inform them on the terminal’s operations, safety efforts, and other matters. Our employees also engage with local residents through involvement in community activities such as softball tournaments.

Australia

In Australia, we strive to develop strong and trusted relationships in the communities where we have a presence by actively engaging and working closely with key stakeholders – including authorities, industry/business, and civil society organizations – and the broader community to ensure we readily communicate relevant information about our activities, understand the implications of these activities on community and stakeholder interests, and receive valuable feedback on our business practices and performance.

We conduct engagement activities in line with our principles for stakeholder engagement to ensure:

• proper identification and prioritization of stakeholders;
• regular contact with priority stakeholders;
• appropriate engagement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, language groups, native title holders, and organizations in the conduct of commercial activities;
• upfront communication on issues and impacts;
• easily accessible information;
• consistent, timely, and responsive communication; and
• ongoing monitoring and improvement.

We draw insights from our engagement activities to help guide our business conduct and management of potential impacts, and consider and incorporate the views of impacted stakeholders into our business decisions and activities.

We use a range of communication methods to suit the engagement purpose and stakeholder preference, including face-to-face and virtual meetings, industry and community forums and events, emails and online information, mainstream and social media, advertising, and communications collateral. In FY2024, more than 300 engagements were held with government, industry, business, and community stakeholders.

We also publish a toll-free phone number, email address and inquiries form on our website and in other forums for community members to provide feedback on our activities. In FY2024, we received 583 inquiries, a significant increase compared to 380 the previous year. Most inquiries received related to employment opportunities (23% from Australian residents, 54% from overseas job seekers).

Indonesia

We strive to maintain productive communication with relevant stakeholders for the Abadi LNG Project in Indonesia. This includes not only local communities, residents, and others directly impacted by our project operations, but also NGOs and the central, provincial, and local governments. As part of this commitment, we base employees who were raised in the areas surrounding the operational sites, in those locations. This enables them to directly support our efforts to maintain active dialogue with those communities.

Regarding the environmental and social impact assessment currently underway, we developed a Stakeholder Engagement and Public Consultation Plan (SECP) ahead of the public consultations for local residents that are held as part of the Indonesian Environmental and Social Impact Assessment process (AMDAL). The SECP goes beyond the requirements of AMDAL to incorporate stakeholder engagement requirements stipulated in the Performance Standards of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which are globally recognized guidelines for environmental and social risk management. We are implementing initiatives in accordance with the SECP.

Our stakeholder engagement at each process of the environmental and social impact assessment are summarized as follows.

Abu Dhabi

We actively disclose information to the local communities near the site of our Abu Dhabi Onshore Block 4 project, with our employees engaging in ongoing respectful and timely dialogue using the local language.

The local communities are living on and farming the land surrounding the area in which we are drilling for this project. With our environmental and social impact assessments, we seek to identify the stakeholders impacted by our projects, and understand their regional distribution. We assess the impact of the project on stakeholders and use the results to plan and implement impact reduction measures and environmental monitoring. Through these assessments, we are monitoring environmental air quality and noise levels in the vicinity of the project site.

Prior to drilling or conducting other on-site work, we collaborate with the local government to distribute project brochures and send SMS to people in the local communities. This ensures they are informed about the nature of the work, duration and potential impacts, and contact details for inquiries. Upon receiving questions or feedback from the local communities, we promptly respond in person or by telephone and other channels, ensuring a high level of transparency in our communications.