LNG

June 5 (LNGJ) - JX Nippon Oil and Gas Exploration Corp. has purchased a micro-stake of 2.58 percent as part of a farm-in agreement with French major TotalEnergies in the Papua New Guinea LNG expansion. JX Nippon is buying the stake for an undisclosed sum in PRL15 licence for the Papua LNG project located onshore and with planned production capacity of 5.6 million tonnes per annum.

   The Papua project aims to produce LNG from the onshore Elk-Antelope gas fields in PNG’s Gulf Province. The natural gas will be transported via pipeline to the existing liquefaction plant at Caution Bay near Port Moresby and operated by ExxonMobil.

Australian LNG plant operator Santos and Australian-listed energy company Oil Search, which has Papua New Guinea LNG and oil stakes and Alaskan oil assets, have extended their period of mutual due diligence regarding the proposed takeover of Oil Search by Santos in a deal worth A$8.40 billion (US$6.25 billion) to create a front-rank global energy company.

French oil and gas major Total and the Government of Papua New Guinea have agreed to proceed again with the Papua LNG project with natural gas mainly from the Elk-Antelope resources, among the largest onshore gas fields in Asia.

Papua New Guinea said it was preparing to start talks with ExxonMobil Corp. and partners in one of two feed-gas projects to negotiate better terms for the government and its holdings in the development of the PNG LNG expansion.

Oil Search, the Australian-based oil and gas producer based in the Papua New Guinea capital Port Moresby, said it was confident about the future of PNG LNG and its expansion project as the nation recovers from a political crisis.