Total and Papua New Guinea government remobilizing, planning Papua LNG project

May 06, 2021

France-based oil company Total and the government of Papa New Guinea announced the remobilization of the Papua LNG project after a year of delay caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of Total, and a Delegation of Papua New Guinea (PNG) led by the Deputy Prime Minister Samuel Basil met May 3 with the objective to review together the next steps for the development of the Papua LNG project.

Papua LNG project will target the production of the two main discoveries of Block PRL-15, Elk and Antelope, that were fully appraised until 2017. It is expected that the gas produced by these fields will be transported by a 320 km (199 mi) onshore/offshore pipeline to Caution Bay site to be liquefied in 2 trains to be built with a total capacity of 5.6 Mt/y which will be integrated to the existing PNG LNG facilities in Caution Bay.

The PNG government and Total as Operator announced the remobilization of the project teams and of other required resources. The objective is to launch the front-end engineering design early 2022 and to prepare for final investment decision in 2023. This positive development follows the signature and the reconfirmation of the Papua LNG Gas Agreement in 2019, the signature of the Fiscal Stability Agreement and the award of the License extension in February 2021.

“I am honored to welcome the Deputy Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea in our head-offices in Paris to review the Papua LNG implementation plan,” Pouyanné said. “This is indeed a very strong signal of the dedication of the PNG government to the success of this key project. I confirm that this project is ranking very high in Total‘s portfolio given its proximity to growing Asian LNG markets and we will dedicate all necessary resources.”

Total and PNG Authorities will cooperate to create significant in-country value and to implement the Papua LNG project in an exemplary manner and taking into highest consideration the biodiversity and environmental stakes as well as the local communities’ rights.

“It was very important for the Government of Papua New Guinea to meet Total Chairman and CEO and the French authorities to stress the importance to our nation of the Papua LNG project, and to pledge the full support of our government to this project,” Basil said. “I am pleased with the outcome of this meeting with clear implementation plans.”

Total operates the Elk and Antelope onshore fields and is the largest shareholder of the PRL-15 permit with a 31.1% interest, alongside partners ExxonMobil (28.7%) and Oil Search (17.7%), post the State back-in right of 22.5%.