ExxonMobil and its partners have agreed to begin initial engineering work on an US$11bn LNG project in Papua New Guinea, as it moves towards final approval, writes Reuters.
The project, estimated to cost between US$10bn-US$11bn, aims to commercialise the Hides, Angore and Juha gas fields and the associated gas resources in the oil fields of Kutubu, Agogo, Gobe and Moran in the country's southern highlands and western provinces.
The proposed two-train LNG plant will have a production capacity of 6.3 million tonnes a year.
Initial engineering work, also known as front-end engineering and design, is expected to take about 16 months to complete.
A final investment decision is expected in late 2009, with the first LNG deliveries expected in 2014, according to venture partner Oil Search.
Exxon last month forecast LNG, a cleaner alternative to oil and coal, would account for a third of Asia's energy needs by 2030.
By staff writer
