'PNG LNG still a Game Changer': ExxonMobil
Monday 5 December 2016
The head of ExxonMobil’s operations in Papua New Guinea says the PNG LNG project will continue to be a “game changer” for the country, performing well above its 6.9 million tonne per annum nameplate capacity.
The managing director of ExxonMobil PNG, Andrew Barry, told delegates at the PNG Mining & Petroleum Investment Conference in Sydney on Monday the project was on track to deliver more than 7.9 million tonnes of LNG this year.
“We also know that our facilities have the capacity to produce over 8 million tonnes per annum, an increase of almost 16% from the original design specification,” he said.
“The benefits of the increased production are wide ranging and include additional revenues for the government of Papua New Guinea, landowners and provincial governments.”
Joint venture partner Oil Search revealed in October the two-train facility had produced at an annualised rate of 8.1 million tpa during the third quarter of the year.
Barry also revealed on Monday that wellpad F, which is the highest wellpad at PNG LNG sitting at an elevation of 2800 metres, was expected to start production soon following mechanical and pressure testing.
He added that work was also significantly advanced to tie-in the Angore field to the company’s production facilities after drilling two wells at the field last year.
“The project involves a new wellpad and a 15 kilometre pipeline to connect the Angore field to the Hides conditioning plant,” he said.
“We expect early works to begin in the new year with construction mobilisation around mid 2017.”
Barry said the company was also making progress on furthering the development of the P’nyang gas field, 120 kilometres north-west of Hides in PRL 3.
“We continue to work with the government on the petroleum development licence and associated pipeline licences for the P’nyang field,” he said.
“Further work plans include a potential well to further define the resource and this work will help us to make an informed decision as to how best to proceed towards front-end engineering and design.”
ExxonMobil and its partners have been active in PNG for a number of years, with Barry noting the US supermajor and its co-venturers had invested more than 2 billion kina ($631 million) in exploration since 2010.
While the focus has been on PNG’s large onshore gas resources, ExxonMobil will begin to turn its attention to the potential offshore play in the Gulf of Papua.
Barry said that, subject to ministerial approval, ExxonMobil has plans to gather seismic in three petroleum prospecting licences in the Gulf.
The licences lie about 150 – 200 kilometres off the coast of southern Papua New Guinea in water depths averaging 1500 metres.