Mitsubishi to buy stake in Talisman Papua New Guinea gas assets

Feb. 22, 2012
Mitsubishi Corp. agreed to pay Talisman Energy Inc. $280 million for a stake in nine natural gas blocks in Papua New Guinea's onshore Western Province, subject to approvals by government and joint venture partners.

Mitsubishi Corp. agreed to pay Talisman Energy Inc. $280 million for a stake in nine natural gas blocks in Papua New Guinea's onshore Western Province, subject to approvals by government and joint venture partners.

Upon closing, Talisman will own an average 40% interest and Mitsubishi will hold an average 20% interest in the nine licenses.

The two companies say they will work jointly toward potentially exporting 3 million tonnes/year of LNG.

The transaction includes the PPL 235 license, which Talisman obtained when it acquired Rift Oil PLC (OGJ Online, July 24, 2009).

Talisman said it plans a four-well drilling program on PPLs 235 and 261 during 2012. The PPL 235 license contains the Puk Puk, Douglas, and Langia discoveries that contain an estimated 2.4 tcf of gas in place.