The Lamp - ExxonMobil

5
Papua New Guinea
LNG project plans move ahead
A proposed project in the South-
ern Highlands and Western
Provinces of PNG could bring
new supplies of liquefied natural
gas (LNG) to world markets by
the next decade.
The initial development envisions
the construction of the
960-million-cubic-feet-a-day
gas-conditioning plant and a gas
pipeline to a liquefaction plant to
be built on the Gulf of Papua near
Port Moresby, the nation’s capital.
The LNG plant would produce 6
million metric tons a year of LNG
for shipment to international markets.
The gas is to be transported
to the plant by a 440-mile pipeline
(250 miles subsea). Liquids
recovered at the existing Hides
gas plant would be combined
with crude oil from the oil operations
and transported through
the existing oil export system to
the Kumul platform, an offshore
tanker loading facility.
Earlier this year ExxonMobil
and the project joint venturers
signed commercial agreements
naming ExxonMobil affiliate Esso
Highlands as operator and sole
marketing representative for the
joint venture. They also signed
a gas agreement with the PNG
State establishing the legal and
fiscal framework for this significant
development.
“ExxonMobil is pleased to have
Story by Bob Davis
Important new energy supplies could be produced from the remote
highlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG) under a plan currently being
developed by ExxonMobil and its joint-venture participants.
completed these key agreements
and to move this project to its
next stage,” says Peter Graham,
venture manager, ExxonMobil
Development Company.
Engineering and design
That next stage involves what
are called front-end engineering
and design (FEED) activities. This
includes engineering and design,
execution planning, project
financing, gas marketing, and all
of the regulatory and permitting
work, including community and
landowner consultation.
“We are expecting a final
funding decision late next year,”
says Graham. “We look forward
to working with the PNG government
and our joint-venture
participants to maximize the
value of the resource and provide
long-term, sustainable benefits
to the community.”
Those benefits are expected
to be substantial. An analysis
by economists at ACIL Tasman
suggested the project could
transform the economy of PNG,
potentially doubling its gross
national product, boosting
government revenue, providing
royalty payments to landowners
and creating jobs during both
the construction and operational
phases. With projected total
direct cash flows of more than
Photo by Isaac Tauno
Sam Koyama, ExxonMobil’s land and
community affairs manager, addresses
a community meeting at Boera village
near the proposed site of the gas
liquefaction plant. Community and
landowner consultation is an important
part of project activities.