Decision on PNG Gas Deal on September 3: Oil Search

A decision on the Papua LNG gas agreement, which was signed by the previous Papua New Guinea government and the French Total-led PRL 15 joint venture, is expected on September 3, Oil Search, one of the partners, said. The original deal was signed in April but was put up for review after the prime minister who signed it resigned in May.

“Oil Search understands that the PNG cabinet (National Executive Council) met yesterday [September 2] to conclude the review of the Papua LNG gas agreement. It is anticipated that a formal ministerial statement on the review will be released later today,” Oil Search said in a statement published September 3.

Oil Search last month said it is committed to supporting the operator of Papua LNG (Total) and the PNG government, in resolving any final questions on Papua LNG gas agreement, so that the P’nyang gas agreement can be finalised and the PRL 15 and PNG LNG joint ventures can proceed into the front-end engineering and design phase of the integrated three train development in a timely manner.

The proposed expansion of PNG’s LNG production and export capacity is dependent on the successful conclusion of the Papua LNG and the P’nyang gas agreements.