The ExxonMobil Corp.-led PNG-LNG joint venture in Papua New Guinea has signed a midterm LNG sale and purchase agreement with PetroChina International (Hong Kong) Corp. Ltd. for the supply of LNG from the Southern Highlands project beginning this month.
The midterm agreement is for the supply of about 450,000 tonnes/year of LNG over a 3-year period.
The agreement takes the total contracted volumes from the PNG-LNG project to 7 million tpy. Some 6.6 million tpy is already committed under long-term contracts to JERA, Osaka Gas, Sinopec, and CPC.
Peter Botten, managing director of project participant Oil Search Ltd., said PetroChina has been an active buyer of spot LNG cargoes from the project. The first sale under the new agreement will take place in the next few days.
ExxonMobil, on behalf of the joint venture partners, is negotiating with other parties for potential LNG supply agreements which are expected to be finalized in the near future.
ExxonMobil has 33.2% interest and operatorship; Oil Search has 29%, Kumul Petroleum Holdings Ltd. 16.8%, Santos Ltd. 13.5%, JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration 4.7%, and Mineral Resources Development Co. Ltd. 2.8%.