Platts - Shell tipped to take stake in InterOil’s Papua New Guinea LNG project, By Christine Forster, May 2, 2013
With Phil having retired and the selection between RDS, XOM and TOT coming to a head, a deal could be announced any day. This article confirms that all 3 majors want into the project and it seems to insinuate that Phil was the bottleneck to a deal with RDS.
"Of the three oil and gas majors understood to be vying for a share of US-listed junior InterOil’s Gulf LNG project in Papua New Guinea, Shell is being tipped by some industry insiders as the bidder most likely to succeed... Shell’s perceived advantage over rivals ExxonMobil and Total centres on its existing relationship with the PNG government and the strategic alliance it signed with Petromin in August 2011. Since then, PNG Minister for Petroleum and Energy William Duma has repeatedly pointed to Shell as a potential stakeholder in the InterOil project... Shell’s overall appeal as a partner for the PNG government may also be strengthened by its ownership of emerging floating LNG technology. In addition to stranded offshore resources, Petromin has in the past eyed the option of using an FLNG facility as an alternative to onshore liquefaction to monetize small-scale gas discoveries in PNG’s Foreland Basin, host to the Elk and Antelope fields... ExxonMobil, on the face of it, also has a strong hand to play in PNG and has already ploughed massive investment into the country...There are obvious synergies for ExxonMobil in securing a stake in InterOil’s gas resources as the company is currently looking for additional gas to feed third and fourth production trains at PNG LNG. The foundation project being built comprises two trains with capacity to produce 6.9 million mt/year....The unexpected retirement, announced April 24, of InterOil’s founding CEO Phil Mulacek is meanwhile expected to speed the process toward a deal. Mulacek, who ended in his role on April 30, was said to have been unwilling to hand over the reins to one of the big oil and gas companies