Two articles 11 hrs. apart, same publication. Two different stakes being discussed? XOM has a 4 T feed deal minimally, did RDS have the edge for Gulf LNG with the remaining 4T? Gulf LNG proposals now in direct competition with the economics of PNG LNG expansions. It doesn't matter if IOC's trains are in The Gulf or in PNG LNG. Stand alone chilling plants IOC owns stakes in do not care where they are built.
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By Russell Searancke
23 May 2013 22:59 GMT
Anglo-Dutch supermajor Shell has been tipped as the likely party, but InterOil said final discussions are continuing “with multiple parties, including major oil companies and a national oil company, each of whom we believe, if chosen, would satisfy the PNG government’s objectives”. The PNG government has insisted an LNG major be involved in the project for it to receive the state’s final approval to proceed.
InterOil’s acting chief executive Gaylen Byker said the government “is aware of all of the people that we are negotiating with, and they are in the category that the government has said they would approve”.
Byker, who is the temporary replacement for the retired Phil Mulacek, added: “We all look forward to working with a qualified LNG partner.
“We are excited to be at the final stage in this process.”
The Gulf LNG project’s current shape involves a single onshore train of 3.8 million tonnes per annum of LNG coming on stream in 2016, followed by a second identical train two years later.
InterOil’s most recent capital cost guidance for two trains was between US$8.3 billion and US$9.3 billion.
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24 May 2013 09:02 GMT
US-headquartered InterOil said that it had discussed the licence PRL15 deal with the government of Papua New Guinea, but that it remained subject to final approval.
Under the arrangement, InterOil and Pacific LNG would sell an unspecified interest in PRL15 that is “sufficient to supply gas to develop an additional LNG train” at ExxonMobil’s Konebada site.
Staged payments would be made before and after production commences.
ExxonMobil would carry InterOil and Pacific LNG on additional delineation wells in the Elk and Antelope fields.
The deal would also give InterOil and Pacific LNG the option to either independently develop a second LNG project in the Gulf Province that may also use gas from PRL15 and potentially other discoveries, such as Triceratops, or pursue further development with ExxonMobil.
A sell-down at the project has been on the cards for months, with InterOil taking final bids from interested parties in March.
International oil companies, national oil companies and global utility companies were all interested in signing up to the project, according to InterOil.

