Total SE is remobilizing project teams for work on its 5.6-million tonne/year (tpy) Papua LNG plant following meetings with the government of Papua New Guinea. Work had been paused for 1 year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company hopes to launch front-end engineering and design early 2022 in preparation for a 2023 final investment decision.
Papua LNG will liquefy gas from the onshore Elk and Antelope fields in Block PRL-15. Gas from these fields will be transported by a 320-km onshore-offshore pipeline to the plant’s Caution Bay site, north of Port Moresby. Papua LNG’s two trains will be integrated with ExxonMobil’s existing 7.9-million tpy PNG LNG plant at the same site.
Total operates Elk and Antelope and is the largest shareholder of the PRL-15 permit with a 31.1% interest, alongside partners ExxonMobil (28.7%) and Oil Search Ltd. (17.7%), post Papua New Guinea’s back-in right of 22.5%.
