PNG LNG Project drilling starts at Hides

Esso Highlands Ltd has commenced drilling operations for the PNG LNG Project at the Hides natural gas field, located in the Southern Highlands province of Papua New Guinea.  

Rig 702 at Hides.-Picture courtesy of ESSO HIGHLANDS

The drill wells will produce approximately 9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas over the life of the project.  

“The PNG LNG Project is unique and important for Papua New Guinea.

“The start of our drilling programme is a key step in meeting our goal of first LNG deliveries in 2014,” said drilling manager Jim McDermott. 

 The specially-designed Nabors Rig 702 is being used to drill the initial well, the first of several natural gas production wells at Hides.

The rig has incorporated best-in-class features to help safely and effectively drill PNG’s world-class resource.

 It has been designed to withstand earthquakes and includes containment equipment and facilities to protect the environment.  

A second rig to be used in the PNG LNG Project drilling programme has arrived in PNG and is currently being transported to the Hides area.

“We have an exceptional team, including Papua New Guinean drilling engineers who recently returned from Melbourne, Australia, where they spent a year-and-a-half learning about ExxonMobil’s drilling operations.

 “They are now putting their training into practice,” McDermott said.