PNG LNG to Ship Fuel Within Days

Papua New Guinea's LNG (PNG LNG) project has begun loading LNG onto a tanker ship, with the first export to Japan expected within days, reports ABC Online.

PNG's Prime Minister Peter O'Neill attended the first loading event on Wednesday, along with former Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare, other ministers and land council representatives, reports the website.

The A$19 billion project, which is operated by ExxonMobil PNG Limited, is expected to produce more than 9 trillion cubic feet of gas over an estimated 30 years of operations.

The project is an integrated development that includes gas production and processing facilities in the Southern Highlands, Hela, Western, Gulf and Central provinces of Papua New Guinea. Approximately 435 miles of pipeline connect the facilities, which include a gas conditioning plant and liquefaction and storage facilities with capacity of 6.9 million tonnes of LNG per year.

"This is the defining moment to show the world just what Papua New Guinea is capable of," ABC Online quotes Peter Graham, managing director of ExxonMobil PNG Ltd as saying.

When the LNG processing plant is in full production, there will be six tanker ships constantly delivering LNG to customers in Asia.