• 19 Jan 2015

ExxonMobil PNG Limited, operator of the PNG LNG project, and the government of Papua New Guinea have reached an agreement to supply up to 20 million ft3/d of domestic natural gas for 20 years to support government plans to improve the capacity and reliability of the country’s power supply.

The agreement is in addition to an existing gas commitment for Hides domestic power generation.

Long-term supply

Commenting on the news, Peter Graham, ExxonMobil PNG Managing Director, said: “This agreement enables a reliable long-term supply of natural gas to support Port Moresby’s urgent power generation needs.”

Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), a portion of the natural gas supply allocated for domestic use will enable PNG LNG to provide up to 25 MW of electrical power, or approximately 20% of Port Moresby’s current generation capacity, for an interim period while the government addresses long-term power generation options. The remainder of the gas supply will be used to fuel a new gas-fired power generation unit expected to be located near the LNG plant outside of Port Moresby.

PNG LNG expansion

The agreement also provides for the award of a petroleum development license and associated pipeline licenses for the P’nyang field in order to provide access to the long-term natural gas reserves needed for power generation, and to enable expansion of the PNG LNG project, which could include the development of a possible additional train.

Source: LNG Industry