InterOil gears up to build gas plant

Oil company obtains five-year petroleum prospecting license extension

 

By SHEILA LASIBORI

 

THE discovery of a “world record” natural gas reservoir in Gulf province has now set the foundation for the construction of a natural gas liquefication plant in Port Moresby, The National reports.

The plant, to rise next to the InterOil Corp-owned Napa Napa oil refinery on the outskirts of the city, would set the infrastructure for the exportation of the condensate (gas in its condensed state) next year.

William Duma, minister responsible for Petroleum and Energy, made this known yesterday at Parliament where he turned over Government documents to InterOil formalising the announced “declaration of location” at Antelope One.

The documents also included a five-year extension of the company’s petroleum prospecting licences (PPL) No. 236, 237, and 238.

With these documents, the company will now expand its current exploration sites at Elk and Antelope One in Gulf province.

“InterOil has more than satisfied its commitment to maintain and extend its licence through investment in seismic data acquisition and drilling of wells over six years, which ultimately resulted in the largest discovery in the country’s history and the world’s largest vertical section of reef at 792m,” Mr Duma said.

Petromin Holdings Ltd, responsible for the State’s full 22.5% equity interest in the upstream and 10% in the mainstream of the project, said the declaration of location and the extension of the licence areas had paved the way for Petromin and InterOil to commercialise the project.

Joshua Kalinoe, Petromin’s managing director and chief executive, said the flaring of Antelope One last Monday underpinned a first train 3.5 million tonnes per annum capacity plant at an estimated cost of US$5 billion (K14 billion).