I am Takayuki Ueda, President and CEO of INPEX Corporation. Thank you very much for coming despite the very cold weather today. For those people participating online, thank you for the participating. Also, thank you to those people participating from overseas. I would like to say I really appreciate you joining this meeting today, and I really hope that we can have a very fruitful meeting today. Now on that basis, I'd like to proceed with my explanation. I'd like to give explanation about business overview for the fiscal year. As for the external environment surrounding operations, the global energy situation continues to undergo a significant change due to factors such as the Russia/Ukraine situation and the actions taken to combat climate change.
At INPEX, we are experiencing some impact, such as those that relate to concerns of economic recession in the United States and other countries, changes in global energy supply-demand structure, and instability in energy prices. The situation surrounding global energy has become more volatile and uncertain than ever before. The energy industry today is facing a kind of a trilemma, where we are needing to address the three challenges of energy security, affordability, and sustainability simultaneously. Such, INPEX is progressing in line with the new medium-term business plan that we put together last year in order to address both the challenges of stable supply of energy and responding to climate change at the same time. I will now describe the progress made regarding our business activities during fiscal 2022.
In regards to our oil and gas business, we safely completed our scheduled shutdown maintenance work as planned at our Ichthys project last year. The project shipped a total of 122 LNG cargo during the year, enabling Ichthys to make approximately JPY 290 billion contribution to our net income. As for our Abu Dhabi business, we are advancing with operations based on existing development plans in our producing projects, while at the same time continuing to realize stable production. We also engaged in a study to increase the production from our projects. In regards to our projects in Norway, such as the Snorre oil field, production activities continue to remain stable, and we have reached a production volume of approximately 33,000 barrels per day.
As for Abadi, we are continuing to negotiate with the Indonesian government and related agencies for the re-revision of the plan of development, aiming to commence production in the early 2030s as a clean, competitive project. We are targeting to make the final investment decision somewhere in the latter half of the 2020s. During 2022, we continued with exploration and appraisal work at Abu Dhabi onshore Block IV, as well as exploration activities in Norway and in the vicinity of the Minami Nagaoka gas field. In 2022, we divested from our assets in Angola and in the United States in accordance with our policy on selection and concentration.
With the aim of enhancing our ability to supply LNG and to diversifying our supply sources, we will purchase approximately 1 million tons of LNG per year for 20 years from Venture Global in the United States. Under this project, we plan to commence construction of the needed facilities around 2023 after obtaining required approvals and licenses. Please turn to the next page. Next, I will explain about the progress made during fiscal 2022 regarding our five net zero businesses. First of all, we are continuing to make advances in the area of hydrogen and ammonia, as exemplified by our final investment decision made for a demonstration project in Niigata Prefecture. We were also awarded a greenhouse gas storage assessment permit in Australia, together with Total and Woodside, which could be a candidate site for CCS.
This permit covers an area considered to be suitable for underground storage of CO2. And such We'll continue to appraise the area with the intent of utilizing it for Ichthys CCS and with a view to potentially turning the area into a CCUS hub in the future. Last year, we obtained stakes in a number of geothermal power projects in Indonesia and in offshore wind power projects in Europe. Our renewable power generating capacity based on our equity stake reached around 291 MW at the end of last fiscal year, steadily progressing towards our medium-term target of 500 MW wind power generation.
In regards to our methanation project in Niigata Prefecture, we'll continue to advance our engineering work to build a new plant. Last year, we established a research hub called I-RHEX. Our intention is to build a robust technological foundation going forward through basic applied and empirical research. Please turn to the next page. Here, I would like to describe some of the highlights of our financial results for fiscal 2022. In regards to the market condition in fiscal 2022, the Brent oil prices increased due to reasons such as relaxation of production cut by OPEC+ and due to the Russia/Ukraine situation. The yen also weakened during the period due to reasons such as the FRB rate increases.
On such a backdrop, we posted net sales of JPY 2,324.6 billion, and net income of JPY 438.2 billion, achieving significant increases year-on-year, both in operating cash flow and free cash flow. Our net production volume reached 622,000 BOED due to reasons such as relaxation of production cut and addition of assets in Norway. Our production cost came to $5.80 per barrel due to addition of assets in Norway, where production cost is relatively high, amongst other reasons. Please turn to the next slide. On this page, I would like to explain about our plans in fiscal 2023 in regards to our oil and gas business, starting with Ichthys.
We have no large shutdown maintenance planned this fiscal year in fiscal 2023. And so we are expecting to ship an average of around 11 LNG cargos every month, assuming stable operation. The project should contribute some JPY 210 billion to our net income this year. We will continue with our debottlenecking efforts to remove facility constraints so that we can increase our LNG production capacity to 9.3 million tons per annum. Furthermore, we will accelerate our participation in exploration assets, as well as in discovered assets in the vicinity of the Ichthys field with a view to long-term expansion of the Ichthys assets. After further ensuring long-term stability of the project production volume, we will seek to further increase production based on expansion of the Ichthys project around 2030.
As for Abu Dhabi, we will continue to operate based on existing development plan this year. At the same time, we'll continue to engage in studies to consider further production increase. In this regard, we announced our UAE Commitment Statement in January this year. Under this statement, we expressed our commitment with regards to maintaining, expanding, and decarbonizing development production of oil, engaging in clean energy and net zero businesses such as those related to hydrogen, ammonia, and CCUS, and enhancing our social contribution activities by continuing to position UAE as one of the core areas of our global business for the next 50 years, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of JODCO in February this year. We held our board of directors meeting in Abu Dhabi at the end of January this year.
At the end of January, we held our board meeting in Abu Dhabi. In regards to our assets in Norway, such as the Snorre oil field, we are expecting steady production to continue this fiscal year. Supply of electricity from the Snorre project, from a floating offshore wind power facility is also expected to start somewhere around the middle of this year. As for Abadi, we will continue to negotiate with the Indonesian government to re-revise the plan of development to add CCS to the project, such that we can make the project cleaner to ensure its long-term competitiveness and sustainability. We are maintaining a target of making final investment decision in the latter half of 2020s and commencing production in the early 2030s. Please turn to the next page.
On this page, I would like to explain about our plans in fiscal 2023 in regards to our five net zero businesses. First of all, we will proceed with drilling of wells and construction of ground facilities for the blue hydrogen and ammonia demonstration project in Niigata Prefecture. As for CCS and CCUS, we will evaluate and appraise the area covered by the greenhouse gas storage assessment permit in Australia. We will also continue to engage in joint research with JOGMEC and promote initiatives in Japan towards commercialization. In the area of renewable energy, we will continue to stably operate and develop geothermal and wind power projects and at the same time, promote initiatives to accelerate the expansion of this business both in Japan and abroad. As for methanation, we are looking to start the operation of a demonstration facility in the latter half of 2024.
Accordingly, we plan to undertake EPC, engineering, procurement, and construction work for the demonstration facility this year. With respect to forest conservation, we are advancing preparation with the aim of participating in projects by 2024. Please turn to the next page.
I'd like to explain the business forecast for fiscal year 2023. In this fiscal year, based on the average Brent oil price assumption of $75 per barrel and the average exchange rate assumption of JPY 125 to a USD, our forecasted net sales are JPY 1,885 billion, and forecasted net income is to JPY 70 billion. The estimated net production volume is 639,000 BOED, while the estimated free cash flow, including the excess downstream IJV, is approximately JPY 290 billion. Next slide, please. I would like to explain the net production volume.
In the previous fiscal year, 2022, our net production volume was 622,000 BOED following the acquisition of the Norwegian oil and gas project and due to contribution from the measures, including the relaxation of production cut by the OPEC+ countries. In this fiscal year, we expect our net production volume to be 639,000 BOED due to factors including the stable operation of Ichthys. Let me now explain the progress against our medium-term business plan. The targets in our medium-term business plan are set to promote both the stable supply of energy and the climate change initiatives. We acknowledge that the importance of our role to provide a stable supply of energy is increasing more than ever.
In 2022, we have seen a steady progress in each business targets, including maintaining stable operations at Ichthys LNG, conducting operations to increase the production capacity of Abu Dhabi projects, acquiring the offshore wind power projects in Europe, and the company made a steady progress towards achieving the management targets. In 2023, INPEX will further strengthen the business framework with the aim to establish a value chain for its five net zero businesses, in addition to its oil gas business, while seeking to achieve the targets outlined in INPEX Vision at 2022. The actual ROE in 2022 was 12.7%, while the estimated ROE in 2023 is 7% or so. The net debt to equity ratio in 2022 was 46%, while the estimated figure in 2023 is around 39%.
The production cost per barrel in 2022, due to the Norwegian project, was $5.80, mainly due to the project as mentioned, while the estimated figure in 2023 is $5.50. The net carbon intensity in 2022 was 28 kg per BOE. In terms of safety, we achieved zero major accidents in 2022. We will continue promoting safety in our operations in 2023. Next slide, please. Let me turn to the cash allocation of the operating cash flow before exploration in fiscal year 2022. In fiscal year 2022, we have steadily promoted safe and steady production, in addition to the favorable external environment, including the high oil and gas prices in our oil and gas business.
Such condition led to a significant increase in the operating cash flow before exploration since the beginning of the fiscal year. On the other hands we have focused on additional debt reduction while making sure that we secure flexibility in our management strategies based on the future uncertainty around the business environment. We conducted a large-scale share buyback to reward our shareholders. The operating cash flow before exploration was expected to be around JPY 710 billion at the beginning of the fiscal year. However, based on factors including the rise in crude oil price, the actual amount increased by around JPY 351.6 billion to JPY 1.0616 trillion.
Regarding the amount for debt reduction in the expenditure, we have worked to reduce debt additionally, while there was an increase in cash in deposits as of the end of the year, leading to an increase from the initial forecast by around JPY 320.1 billion to JPY 525.1 billion in total. This situation has resulted in net debt to equity ratio of 46%, which is in line with the target of 50% or less in the medium-term business plan. The amount for shareholder returns was JPY 200.4 billion through dividends and share buyback. The amount for growth investment was JPY 336.1 billion due to factors including cash outflow for investment being pushed out to the next fiscal year, in addition to the disciplined investment decisions.
Please move to the next slide. Next is the forecast of cash allocation in fiscal year 2023. Due to the rather conservative oil price and forex assumptions and others, we expect the operating cash flow before exploration to be around JPY 800 billion, down JPY 260 billion or so compared to the previous year. On the expenditure, we expect to increase the growth investment mainly in the Oceania region and make our business resilient in order to further grow our business beyond 2024. We will also continue to reduce debt while paying out dividends based on the policy set in the medium-term business plan. In specific, we plan the amount for debt reduction, et cetera, to be around JPY 190 billion, and expect the net debt to equity ratio to be around 39% at the end of the year.
Regarding the debt reduction, we will watch carefully the market environment, including the oil price and exchange rate, while flexibly control the amount of leverage according to the level of investment and shareholder returns, in order to further improve the financial soundness appropriately, as we described under the financial strategy in the medium-term business plan. As for shareholder returns, we expect to allocate JPY 110 billion or more according to the target total payout ratio of 40% or greater, as described in the medium-term business plan.
Regarding the allocation for growth investment, on top of the expected increase in the investment amount, mainly for the Oceania region in the oil and gas business, we expect investment from the previous year to be pushed out to this year, and other factors leading to around JPY 500 billion of growth investments, up JPY 160 billion or so from the previous year. Although we have conservative assumptions of oil price and exchange rate in 2023, we will pay utmost efforts in order to continually improve our business performance. Next page, please. I will now explain the shareholder returns. In 2022, we paid out a historical dividend of JPY 62 per share, an increase of JPY 14 versus the previous year, and conducted a share buyback in the size of JPY 120 billion.
As a result, the total payout ratio was 46.4%. In order to further reward our shareholders, the dividend in 2023 is expected to increase to another historical JPY 64 on a full year basis, although the sales and profit guidance for this fiscal year and expected to grow are expected to go down year-on-year. According to the target total payout ratio of 40% or greater in the medium-term business plan, we will consider additional shareholder returns based on the business environment and other factors. Next, please. Now I would like to cover the actual ESG initiatives in 2022. As a pioneer in the field of energy transformation and a responsible energy company, we are promoting the ESG initiatives as shown in the slide.
In regards to the external evaluation for main ESG matters, we are maintaining a high level within the industry. We will continue our efforts to improve corporate value. Next slide, please. This is showing the results of our initiatives to tackle climate change in 2022. In order to achieve the climate change response goals, we have taken various initiatives, which led to net carbon intensity of 28 kilogram and methane emission intensity of 0.06%. This concludes my presentation today. Thank you for your kind attention.
I am Daisuke Yamada, and I'm responsible for the Finance and Accounting division. I would like to explain the financial results for the fiscal year ended December 31st, 2022. This slide outlines the highlights of the financial results for the fiscal year. We posted JPY 438.2 billion of net income attributable to owners of parent for the period. Net income of JPY 223 billion we generated in fiscal 2021 was all-time high, all-time record at that time. We exceeded that level, almost at a twofold this time around. The significant increase in profit was realized due to a large year-on-year gain in the average Brent crude oil price, which came to around $99 for the year.
A significant year-on-year weakening of the yen that averaged at around JPY 131 to $1, continuance of safe and stable operation and production at project we participate in, including the Ichthys LNG project, amongst other reasons. For your information, net income contribution from the Ichthys LNG project was approximately JPY 290 billion. I'd like to explain the overview of our net sales. As you can see in this table, net sales of crude oil and natural gas, excluding LPG, increased significantly year-on-year. Sales volume of natural gas decreased slightly, our net sales increased due to higher sales volume of crude oil, which resulted from a new consolidation of a project in Norway, as well as due to increases in unit prices that resulted from higher average Brent crude oil price.
This is the statement of income. I will explain the movements of net income attributable to owners of parent using the waterfall chart in the next few slides. Please refer back to this slide as needed. I would like to explain the movements in consolidated net income from the JPY 223 billion recorded previous fiscal year to the JPY 438.2 billion recorded in fiscal 2022. Net sales increased by JPY 1.0802 trillion, mainly as a result of the increase in unit price of crude oil resulting from higher Brent oil prices.
Cost of sales increased by JPY 374.4 billion, impacting net income negatively, mainly due to sales royalties of crude oil increasing in tandem with the higher net sales of Abu Dhabi accrued oil and due to a new booking of asset retirement obligations related to domestic production facilities. Exploration expenses and SG&A increased by JPY 22.9 billion and JPY 27.2 billion respectively, both impacting net income negatively. Equity in earnings of affiliates increased by JPY 123 billion due to improvements in the performance of Ichthys Downstream IJV, amongst other reasons impacted net income positively. Other income and expenses impacted net income negatively by JPY 9.6 billion due to recognition of a loss resulting from modification of financial assets, in addition to recording impairment losses in some projects during the period.
Income tax expenses increased by JPY 541 billion due to stronger earnings. When all these factors are added together, the consolidated net income for the fiscal year came to JPY 438.2 billion, increasing by JPY 215.2 billion year-on-year. Next, I would like to explain our consolidated balance sheet. Total assets at the end of the fiscal year came to JPY 6.2623 trillion, increasing by JPY 1.1 trillion year-on-year, mainly due to the increase in the fixed assets of overseas subsidiaries that resulted from weaker yen. Although we invested in some new projects during fiscal 2022, the increase in fixed assets was essentially due to a currency translation of dollar-denominated assets resulting from the weaker yen.
As such, there were no significant changes in the substance of the consolidated balance sheet. For your information, total assets of the Ichthys Downstream IJV, which is not included in our consolidated balance sheet, came to approximately JPY 4.4 trillion. As for liabilities, the weaker yen caused a total at the end of the fiscal year, including both current and long-term, to increase by approximately JPY 400 billion year-on-year to JPY 2.2239 trillion. Net assets came to JPY 4.0383 trillion, increasing by approximately JPY 700 billion year-on-year, due mainly to the increase in net income and in translation adjustment that resulted from the weaker yen. For your information, INPEX's total net loans, including net loans of Ichthys Downstream IJV, came to approximately JPY 1.7 trillion at the end of the period.
Next is a statement of cash flows. The consolidated cash flow statement shown here is based on statutory accounting and hence excludes the cash flows of Ichthys Downstream IJV, which is our equity method subsidiary. Net cash provided by operating activities came to JPY 751.2 billion, increasing significantly year-on-year, mainly due to the increase in income before income taxes that resulted from higher oil prices and stable operation, amongst other reasons. Net cash used in investing activities came to JPY 525.5 billion due to investments made in geothermal power generation projects in Indonesia and in wind power generation projects in Europe. Net cash used in financing activities came to JPY 241.9 billion due to the increase in the proceeds from long-term debt, amongst other reasons.
On this page, I would like to explain about the cash flow, including the Ichthys Downstream IJV, which President Mr. Ueda, also mentioned in his part. Cash flow from operations before exploration expenditure came to JPY 1.0616 trillion, resulting from stable operation and from benefits gained due to higher oil prices and weaker yen. Cash flow from investment came to negative JPY 377.8 billion as a result of disciplined investment decisions, as well as due to cash out timing of investment projects. Cash flow from financing activities came to negative JPY 634.6 billion as a result of debt repayments, purchase of treasury stock, and dividend repayments, amongst other reasons. As a consequence of these cash flow movements, available funds as at December 31st, 2022 came to JPY 284.6 billion, increasing by JPY 49.2 billion year-on-year. Please turn to the next page.
I would like to explain the consolidated financial forecast for the year ending December 31st, 2023. The Brent oil price and exchange rate assumptions. The forecasted average Brent oil price is $75 per barrel, which is a conservative guidance against the current market and assumes a drop towards the end of the year. This assumption is set by considering the magnitude of the recent volatility in the market. If you look at the highest and lowest oil prices in the past year, the highest was $127 on March 8th, and the lowest was $76 on December 9th, leading to a fluctuation of more than $50 in a year. The recent oil price is around $85, we set the assumption based on the uncertainties around the world and the global economy.
We have also considered the past trends of average oil price, which used to be $ 70 or so, allowing to build assumptions comprehensively. As for the average exchange rate, the assumption may be slightly conservative compared to the recent rates. As we consider the development of interest rate policies in the U.S. and Japan, as well as the risk of economic slowdown in the United States, we set the exchange rate with a slight stronger yen assumption at JPY 125 to $1 . If we compare these oil price and exchange rate assumptions against the actual in the previous year, the oil price is $ 24 cheaper, and the exchange rate is around JPY 6 of appreciation against the USD based on the average rate. The consolidated financial forecast for this year are shown in the slide based on these assumptions.
Consolidated net sales are down by JPY 439.6 billion from JPY 2.3246 trillion in the previous year to JPY 1.885 trillion. Consolidated ordinary income is down by JPY 433.2 billion from JPY 1.4382 trillion in the previous year to JPY 1.005 trillion. The net income attributable to owners of parent is down by JPY 168.2 billion from JPY 438.2 billion in the previous year to JPY 270 billion.
Due to the factors including negative impact from the lower oil price and a stronger yen assumptions compared to the previous year, the profit contribution in value from the Ichthys LNG is expected to be down by around JPY 80 billion from around JPY 290 billion in the previous year to JPY 210 billion. However, considering the expected increase in production volume due to the absence of large-scale regular shutdown in this year, as well as the lagging impact from the decline in oil price, the contribution level from the Ichthys LNG to the consolidated net income is around 80%. The year-end dividend for the fiscal year ended December 2022, as our President mentioned, will be JPY 32 per share. With the interim dividend of JPY 30, the annual dividend is JPY 62 per share.
The dividend forecast for the year ending December 2023 will be increased by JPY 2 to JPY 64 per share on the full year basis. The difference between the actual of the previous year and the forecast of this year are shown in the waterfall chart based on the impact to the net income attributable to owners of parent. Let me explain the gap between the actual net profit of JPY 438.2 billion in the previous year and the forecasted net profit of JPY 270 billion in this year. The external factors affecting this year are the assumptions around oil price, exchange rates, and interest rates. The lower oil price this year versus previous year will have a negative impact of JPY 110.7 billion.
The stronger yen this year versus previous year will have a negative impact of JPY 21.2 billion. The rise in interest rates will have a negative impact of JPY 19.7 billion. Next is the basic factors impacting profit, which are sales volume, exploration expenses, and general and administrative expenses. The continued stable operation and expected increase in sales volume of Ichthys LNG will have a positive impact of JPY 63.5 billion. While the increase in exploration expenses will have a negative impact of JPY 35.9 billion, and the increase of general and administrative expenses, such as personnel and R&D costs, will have a negative impact of JPY 10.9 billion. The decarbonization cost for Ichthys LNG will have a negative impact on profit by JPY 35 billion.
In order to make Ichthys LNG cleaner and more resilient following the recent trend of decarbonization, we factored the costs for environmental regulation and recovery, as well as the promotion of CCUS-related projects whenever necessary. After including a positive impact of JPY 1.7 billion in others, the net income forecast in 2023 will decline from the actual JPY 438.2 billion in the previous year to JPY 270 billion, down JPY 168.2 billion. Next slide, please. This slide shows the reference figure of net income sensitivity of Brent oil price and the exchange rate for the year ending December 2023, based on the financial conditions at the beginning of the year.
When the Brent oil price increases $1 per barrel, we estimated a positive JPY 6 billion impact at the beginning of the year. In footnote two, we have described the quarterly net income sensitivity for your reference. Regarding the exchange rate sensitivity, JPY 1 depreciation against a dollar is expected to be positive JPY 3.2 billion. Lastly, I would like to explain the cash flow forecast, including the Ichthys Downstream IJV. Cash flow from operations before exploration investment is expected to be approximately JPY 800 billion. Cash flow from investment is expected to be approximately JPY 510 billion. The breakdown of the cash flow from investment is shown in the chart above, where the total amount of development expenditure for oil and gas business, as well as five net zero businesses, is JPY 443 billion.
The amount of exploration expenditure, mainly for the areas surrounding Ichthys LNG, is expected to increase to JPY 71 billion. The amount of divestment and other negative others are negative JPY 18 billion. The amount for others, including purchase and disposal of investment securities, is JPY 14 billion, adding to a total amount of approximately JPY 510 billion. Regarding the five net zero businesses, there are some investment projects which are pushed out from the previous year to this year, causing an increase of JPY 12.2 billion compared to the actual in the previous year. As a result, we expect to secure a free cash flow of JPY 290 billion in this fiscal year ending December 2023. This is all for my presentation. Thank you very much.