Photo by: Bloomberg
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The construction of the $19-billion Papua New Guinea (PNG) liquefied natural gas (LNG) project was more than 95% complete, and first gas would be delivered to customers by mid-year, global oil giant Exxon Mobil Corporation said on Wednesday.
Speaking at the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association conference, Exxon Mobil project executive Decie Autin said that the company was delivering the project on time and “essentially” on budget.
“The main gas pipeline construction is now complete, and we are finalising restoration work along the pipeline right of way to allow grasses, trees and other flora in the area to return,” she said.
Autin noted that the Hides gas conditioning plant, where Exxon would be producing about one-billion cubic feet of gas a day, was also in the final stages of completion, with the gas flowing into the plant for final commissioning of the first of three compression trains.
Drilling was also ongoing, with the PNG wells expected to produce reliably, at high rates, for over 30 years.
“These development wells are the first ‘big-bore’ wells to be drilled in PNG with seven-inch tubing strings to support the high flow rates needed to fill the LNG plant. The initial drilling programme involves 11 wells,” she said.
The PNG LNG project’s gas would be transported by pipeline to a liquefaction plant with a capacity of 6.9-million tonnes a year, some 25 km from Port Moresby.