Plans to expand gas fields in Western underway: Emmett

HORIZON Oil has increased its stake in the total certified resources contained in the Western Forelands, Western, to about 28 per cent, furthering its plans for a liquefied natural gas project.
The total certified resources contained in PNG’s Western foreland fields of 2.0 to 2.5tcf (trillion cubic feet) gas and 60 – 70mmbbl of condensate.  The company and partner Repsol now operate all the licences and hold 70 per cent of the total gas resource to be aggregated to underpin the proposed 1.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of  the Western LNG project.
Horizon Oil chief executive Brent Emmett said this progress would allow for the company and Repsol to facilitate the planned multi-licence development of an LNG project.
“Horizon Oil’s licence interests relate to the planned 1.5mtpa (million tonnes per annum) LNG facility to be located near Daru Island on the coast,” he said.
“The foundation gas will come, in the main, from Elevala or Tingu and Ketu fields and so an additional 3 per cent in this licence makes good sense.
“Puk Puk and Douglas fields will be important contributors to the gas aggregation later in the project life, extending the production plateau significantly.  We are pleased to be able to acquire a 20 per cent interest in these fields in exchange for 20 per cent of our interest in the Ubuntu licence, where we were overweight, in a trade agreement with Kumul Petroleum Holdings.
“As a result of this and other recent transactions, Kumul will hold interests in Stanley, Ubuntu, Puk Puk and Douglas fields and, as the national oil company, we expect they will bring considerable strategic value to the gas aggregation project.”