IN a possible further sign that a deal over its Elk-Antelope discoveries in Papua New Guinea’s Gulf province is looming, InterOil founder and chief executive officer Phil Mulacek has announced his retirement.

PNG Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare and InterOil CEO Phil Mulacek at Elk-4's record gas flow

Mulacek’s resignation is effective April 30 although he will remain on the board as a director and to provide advisory services.

InterOil chairman Dr Gaylen Byker will take over Mulacek’s CEO duties from May until a suitable successor is found.

“Phil Mulacek is a remarkable visionary, engineer and entrepreneur who built a successful integrated oil and gas company from a concept to an NYSE-listed company with a $US3.5 billion market capitalisation,” Byker said.

“Mulacek pioneered InterOil’s exploration activities in the Gulf Province of Papua New Guinea that resulted in the discovery of the Elk/Antelope and Triceratops fields, which contain in total a best case estimate of 1.6 billion barrels of oil equivalent of contingent resources.

“This is an unusual feat, seldom accomplished in any field. We are thankful for Phil’s many years of dedication and hard work, and pleased that he will advise the company as we continue our very successful exploration program and work to finalise our LNG partnership arrangements with the PNG government and an internationally-recognised LNG operator.”

Mulacek said it was a privilege to work with all of InterOil’s employees, associates, partners and the people of PNG through the years.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to have led InterOil from its humble beginnings in 1997 through the discovery of world-class natural gas and condensate resources at Elk/ Antelope and Triceratops and now working towards the final selection of our LNG partner,” Mulacek said.

InterOil chief financial officer Collin Visaggio confirmed to PNGIndustryNews.net that Mulacek’s retirement was a part of the process to bring in a strategic partner to operate the Elk-Antelope field.

The CFO had previously confirmed that at least two supermajors were involved in bids, which could include being part of a joint venture bid, for such a stake.

InterOil’s Gulf LNG project, underpinned by the Elk-Antelope field, aims to develop an initial 3.8 million tonnes per annum of capacity.

Yet the PNG government, which long ago campaigned for a world-class LNG operator to lead commercialisation of this field, is expected to have the final say on what development goes ahead with the options to be recommended by the bidder that wins the strategic partner hunt.

The government is a 22.5% stakeholder of the Elk-Antelope field and last year cabinet conditionally approved a plan to acquire a further 27.5%, but it remains unclear if this will eventuate.

GLJ Petroleum Consultants has estimated that InterOil’s Elk-Antelope and Triceratops fields host resources of 10.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent with about 0.4tcfe coming from the less-drilled Triceratops field.

The PNG government is using separate Elk-Antelope estimates made by Gaffney Cline and Associates, which are yet to be publicly revealed.

As a sign of the increasing interest in PNG over recent years, InterOil said that in 2005 before the Elk discovery there were five petroleum development licences, five petroleum retention licences, 22 petroleum prospecting licences and three applications for PPLs.

“Following the Antelope discovery and resource certification, today there are nine PDLs, 13 PRLs, 73 PPLs and 10 applications filed for PPLs,” an InterOil spokesperson said.

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