Blanchard praises Exxon’s partnership

EXXONMOBIL will make a strong partnership in the development of the Papua LNG project, according to Total E&P PNG Limited managing director Philippe Blanchard.
He told business breakfast in Port Moresby yesterday that ExxonMobil had bought InterOil and “is now our new partner of PRL 15”.
“There have been a lot of comments about this. The only thing that I would like you to keep in mind is that it is a good thing. It is a very good thing that ExxonMobil has joined the partnership – for two reasons,” he said.
“One, it is a huge icon in LNG like we are at Total. And that is very good because it will give confidence to every buyer in the world to buy our gas. Two, they have the experience in the LNG project in Papua New Guinea.
“For Total, this is the first time in Papua New Guinea. We are discovering many things. We are coming with a lot of experience from other countries that we have projects in.
“But with Exxon with us, I’m certain that there are some mistakes that we will not make. I can tell you that with ExxonMobil and Oil Search, a company that has huge experience in Papua New Guinea, we should succeed.
“The other thing is that it is a project that is expected by all the people so the better we are all around the table, the better is it going to be for all of these.”