Japan may sell stake in PNG oil, gas venture

THE Japanese trade ministry has indicated that it might sell the government’s majority-owned stake in the Papua New Guinea oil and gas joint venture with JX Holdings and Mitsubishi Corp.
The Reuters news agency last Thursday attributed a ministry official and reported the ministry issued tenders last Thursday seeking guidance on the monetary value and legal research for its 62 % stake in the venture, Japan-Papua New Guinea Petroleum Co.
The tenders close late this month.
The venture’s wholly owned unit, Merlin Petroleum Co, has a 4.7 % stake in the Exxon Mobil-led US$15 billion PNG LNG project.
Japan’s JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corp, a wholly-owned unit of JX Holdings, holds 36.4 % of the venture, while Mitsubishi has the remaining 1.6%.
Depending on the outcome of those tenders, the trade ministry might decide to offer the stake for sale via tender, the trade ministry official said.
Exxon is the biggest stakeholder in the PNG LNG project, which will produce 6.6 million tonnes per year of LNG via two production trains when it comes online in 2014.