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Business |
InterOil begins planning LNG facility
Gas engineering
experts here to assess project
FIFTEEN natural gas engineering experts are in Papua New Guinea to
assess the challenge of building by far the largest resource
development project in the country’s history.
The K18 billion liquefied natural gas facility, which will be
ready to export PNG gas to world markets by 2012, had attracted
engineering interest and construction bids from around the world.
InterOil, who along with huge American investment broker Merrill
Lynch and other partners, had put together the deal, hosted the
bid engineers at the Napa Napa site, next to the refinery, and
also at the Elk2 gas drilling site in Gulf province.
Jack Hamilton, chief executive of Liquid
Niugini Gas, said his company, representing the PNG and North
American interests, was committed to building the huge gas
processor and making the first export sales of PNG’s large gas
reserves within five years.
“This is an entirely new industry for PNG, and as planned, will
contribute K3.5 billion to the gross domestic product each year,
at full production.
“We plan that the project will contribute between K40 billion and
K60 billion in direct government take, and contribute between K75
billion and K110 billion in total country benefits.
“And this is based only on the reserves we believe can be
recovered from the Eastern Papuan field we have identified,
centred on the Elk discovery, leaving other PNG gas fields in the
Southern Highlands and elsewhere, also open to development in
their
own time,” Dr Hamilton said.
There were several new gas projects under planning in Australia,
which are direct competitors to PNG gas sales, targeted to come on
stream from 2013 and onwards.
This made it essential that PNG put on all speed to capture the
window of opportunity to secure markets ahead of other suppliers,
Dr Hamilton said.
“That’s why we have these people in the country at this time.
“They are very excited to be here, to see the resources and the
potential of this country, and meet some of the people they’ll be
working with when construction of the project starts.”
Dr Hamilton said other gas products, including fertilisers and
petro-chemicals, would also be produced and exported from the
Konebada industrial park surrounding the InterOil refinery.
 
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