PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Canadian oil and gas explorer Talisman Energy has signed a $280-million deal with Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation, giving it access to nine of Talisman’s natural gas licences in Papua New Guinea (PNG).

The two companies have agreed to work together to aggregate natural gas in the western province of PNG, with a view to potentially exporting three-million tons a year of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

“Talisman is delighted to have Mitsubishi as a strategic partner in our onshore licences in PNG,” said executive VP for international operations east, Paul Blakeley.

“Mitsubishi brings extensive experience in LNG development and marketing and I am confident they will be a key success factor in helping us unlock the value of our PNG assets,” he added.

Talisman has been working in PNG since 2001, and the company has a portfolio comprising interests in nine petroleum prospecting licences and five petroleum retention licences, covering 13.7-million acres.

To date, the company had participated in the acquisition of over 1 550 km of 2D seismic surveys and the drilling of eight wells in the PNG Foreland basin. As one of the most active explorers in PNG over the past two years, Talisman has participated in a new gas discovery at Ubuntu and the successful appraisal of the Stanley and Elevala gas discoveries.

Furthermore, Talisman intended to start a four-well drilling programme on two of its petroleum prospecting licences, as well as ongoing appraisal on one of its petroleum retention licences.

In a joint statement, Mitsubishi said that it saw PNG as a vast and underexplored country with huge LNG supply potential within the Asia Pacific region. The company said that it aimed to maximise its contribution by leveraging its experience, not only to promote economic growth for PNG, but also potentially linking this with securing a stable energy supply for Japan.

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