Article from The Loop dated yesterday recapping Gulf LNG. Nice picture of the laydown area is included with the article.
More LNG blessings coming
Jul 1, 2014 With six more years to go and Papua New Guinea will be reaping another blessing from the second LNG Project in Gulf Province. The US$7b Gulf LNG project has the potential to become Papua New Guinea’s second mega-scale LNG project and a direct rival to ExxonMobil’s PNG LNG project. Total, InterOil and Oil Search will develop the project. Gulf LNG calls for the development of the giant Elk and Antelope gas fields (PRL 15) and the construction of Papua New Guinea’s second LNG export terminal.
With estimated gas reserves of more than 5 Tcf and in excess of 75 MM barrels of associated liquids, these fields collectively represent one of the region’s largest gas discoveries in 20 years. Just two years ago, Gulf LNG’s future looked dim. InterOil almost lost the project due to a dispute with the Papua New Guinea government over the project’s export capacity. The original 2009 project agreement plan required InterOil to develop a multi-train LNG terminal with a processing capacity of 7.6 MMtpy, with the option to expand capacity to 10.6 MMtpy. However, InterOil’s plans eventually shifted toward two LNG projects instead of one.
The new plan called for the construction of a 2-MMtpy FLNG vessel and a 2-MMtpy onshore LNG plant. The government argued that the new export contract was a breach of the 2009 project agreement. The dispute was eventually resolved under new conditions calling for the construction of two separate LNG trains, but with a minimum processing capacity of 3.8 MMtpy. InterOil was also required to involve an experienced operator to run the upstream installations. The company found that operator in December 2013 when it signed a deal with French oil and gas major Total. The agreement shot a breath of life into the project, allowing it to continue. Negotiations between the two companies were finalized in April. The final financial decision is expected to come in 2016, with first sales and operations scheduled to begin in 2020. - See more at: http://www.pngloop.com/2014/07/01/lng-blessings-coming/#sthash.dKlm2lhT.dpuf
