The Federal Government has refused a request from an LNG project to dump $30 million worth of a $91 million environmental program that the company promised to complete in the Northern Territory.

Key points: Federal Government says Ichthys INPEX project must fulfil environmental promises

Federal Government says Ichthys INPEX project must fulfil environmental promises Company had requested to drop environmental programs

Company had requested to drop environmental programs The LNG project is worth $34b, while environmental programs worth $91m in total

The Ichthys INPEX is a $34 billion joint venture that will take natural gas off the coast of Western Australia and pipe it 900 kilometres underwater to a processing plant in Darwin Harbour.

When processing begins most of the LNG will be exported to Japan.

INPEX's general manager in Darwin, Sean Kildare, has told Darwin commercial radio station MixFM the decision from Government was "not a closed door".

The application to change Ichthys INPEX's environmental contract with the Government and dump $30 million of federal environmental projects was originally made in October 2015.

Mr Kildare claimed on MixFM the Commonwealth Government stated they would like to maintain an ongoing discussion about how Ichthys INPEX could achieve what we they were looking to do.

"[This would mean] rebalancing the application of resources and environmental commitments through a different manner," Mr Kildare said.

He emphasised the discussion was not closed, and that the Government had told the company "we won't do it that way, let's do it this way," Mr Kildare said.

The ABC has approached both the Commonwealth Government and Ichthys INPEX for details of the alternative plan.

INPEX have had their request to renege on some environmental protections refused.

David Morris from the Northern Territory Environmental Defenders Office questioned INPEX's commitment to the Commonwealth decision.

He said Mr Kildare's comments did not engender confidence.

"Now that they've been rejected by the Commonwealth Government it appear(s) from his comments as though they intend to make further requests", Mr Morris said.

The ABC reported last month INPEX had sought to renege on planned marine and land reserves, including 2,000 hectares of mangroves, plus "marine habitat for inshore dolphins, marine turtles and dugong".

Sources told the ABC at the time that a $24 million partnership with Aboriginal rangers "to provide for co-management of dugong, coastal dolphins and marine turtles" along approximately 300 kilometres of coast was also in danger if the Federal Government approved INPEX's request.

Answer based on science

A spokeswoman for the Department of the Environment said in a statement the decision to deny INPEX's request "was based on current scientific evidence and a full consideration of the requirements set out in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC)".

Mr Kildare had previously told the ABC the company's move to cut some environmental commitments was based on "independently verified environmental studies" and "a significant investment of time, money and people" that showed predicted environmental impacts of the Ichthys project had been "either completely removed... or were not applicable based on expert advice".