Oil Search News

French energy giant Total and its partners ExxonMobil and Oil Search have signed the Gas Agreement with the Independent State of Papua New Guinea defining the fiscal framework for the Papua LNG Project.The Papua LNG project Gas Agreement allows the partners to enter the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) phase of study that will lead to the Final Investment Decision in 2020.“The finalization of the Gas Agreement is a major milestone for Papua LNG project that confirms the commitment of all partners and the Government of Papua New Guinea to make the project a success for all stakeholders”, said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of Total.“We…

Total and its partners ExxonMobil and Oil Search have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Independent State of Papua New Guinea defining the key terms of the Gas Agreement for the Papua LNG Project.According to a press release from Total the MoU was signed in Port Moresby, in presence of Peter O’Neill, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, and Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of Total. The proposed Gas Agreement is expected to be finalized by Q1 2019.Total is the operator of the Elk and Antelope onshore fields and is the largest shareholder in PRL-15 with a 31.1% interest, alongside partners ExxonMobil (28.3%) and Oil Search (17.7%)…

Sales of Kutubu Light crude oil cargoes will resume in the Asia spot market in July after a major earthquake in Papua New Guinea shut production from late February to early April, three industry sources said on Monday.While production at the facility resumed in early April, producers of the light crude oil have been trying to meet previously committed cargoes to buyers which had been delayed due to the earthquake, one of the people said.The sources declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak with media.The July-loading program will be the first time since February that Kutubu Light crude will be fully available in the spot market…

If you were looking for signs that the liquefied natural gas (LNG) merry-go-round is starting to spin a little faster, the announcement of a planned massive expansion in Papua New Guinea is ample evidence. Global majors Exxon Mobil and Total are considering plans to double LNG exports from Papua New Guinea to about 16 million tonnes per annum, their partner Oil Search said on Feb. 20. If approved, three new trains would be added to the existing Exxon-operated PNG LNG facility, with natural gas from Total's fields supplying two of the units and the third using existing fields and a new Exxon development. While a final investment decision on the $13 billion expansion is still more than a year away…

LNG carrier Spirit of Hela, which is jointly owned by MOL and Itochu Corporation, has left Papua New Guinea carrying the first LNG cargo from the ExxonMobil-led PNG LNG Project, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. announced. The PNG LNG Project is Papua New Guinea’s first ever LNG project, and it will provide long-term supply of gas to customers in Japan and other countries. The vessel loaded LNG at the Project’s Marine Terminal, which is located near Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea. The first cargo will be delivered to Tokyo Electric Power Company. On May 14, Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister Peter O’Neill visited the vessel for a tour.

Exxon Mobil Corporatio says it has shipped the first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the $19 billion PNG (Papua New Guinea) LNG project ahead of schedule. PNG LNG, operated by ExxonMobil affiliate ExxonMobil PNG Limited, is expected to produce more than 9 trillion cubic feet of gas over its estimated 30 years of operations. The first cargo is bound for LNG customer Tokyo Electric Power Co. Inc. (TEPCO) in Japan. Production from the first train started in April, 2014, and production from the second train has also started as additional wells came online. Construction of PNG LNG began in 2010, and took more than 190 million work hours to complete. At its peak, the project employed more than 21,000 people.

ExxonMobil's $19 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Papua New Guinea, which is shipping its first cargo, is set to dramatically transform one of Asia-Pacific's most unstable countries, for better or for worse. The LNG venture, which is expected to produce more than 9 trillion cubic feet of gas over 30 years, is the largest private investment in the South Pacific nation's history. ExxonMobil is relying on projects like this one for much-needed production growth, while the Papua New Guinea government hopes it might double its $15 billion dollar economy, now slightly larger than Botswana's. But sharing the spoils of resource projects has previously torn apart a country that is seen as one of the most corrupt in the world…

A 3D CDP seismic survey covering 1,200 square km is being carried out by three field exploration parties from Yuzhmorgeologiya. Pechora Sea (Russian: Печо́рское мо́ре, or Pechorskoye More), is a sea at the northwest of Russia, the southeastern part of the Barents Sea, blocked by floating ice from November to June. The seismic survey vessels. Iskatel 5, Vyborgsky and Petrogradsky as well as some 20 auxiliary vessels are involved in the project. Work will run through October 2012. Rosneft is carrying out its exploration programme in the Pechora Sea in strict compliance with Russian environmental regulations and license terms. Earlier,…

Fugro-TSM, a division of Fugro Subsea Services, has been awarded the Kumul Marine Terminal Pipeline IRM (Inspection Repair Maintenance) contract by Oil Search Limited. The contract is for the provision of a DP2 DSV to support air diving services around the Kumul Marine Terminal in the Gulf of Papua, PNG. FTSM has mobilised the Rem Etive, complete with work class ROV, air diving spread and associated diver tooling to undertake the IRM works around the platform, oil export pipeline and CALM Buoy. Cal Dive International has been subcontracted to provide the air diving services.

ExxonMobil Corp. has started marketing gas from its planned liquified natural gas project in to potential buyers. Discussions with buyers began this month, according to a representative from the company who told the South East Asia Australia Offshore Conference in . ExxonMobil is marketing the gas on behalf of project partners, which include Oil Search Ltd. (OSH.AU). Source:  Dow Jones

EnerSea Transport LLC (EnerSea) is advancing its efforts into the next phase of two international gas development and import project proposals for the Philippines and New Zealand using EnerSea's compressed natural gas (CNG) marine transport and storage systems and services. The two gas supply projects are being led by Unocal Corporation and Oil Search Limited, respectively. EnerSea along with Oil Search and Itochu Corporation have signed a Pre- Development Agreement to perform a comprehensive feasibility study to establish the viability of a large scale CNG transportation project to ship natural gas from Papua New Guinea (PNG) to New Zealand.

The settlement of a drawn-out maritime border dispute between Latvia and Lithuania has reportedly set the stage for exploration of a potentially bountiful offshore oilfield.

Oil Search Ltd., Papua New Guinea's biggest oil producer, expects to reach agreements with the government and partners by the year-end allowing a decision to start designing a $10b liquefied natural gas project. The economic viability of the Exxon Mobil Corp.-led LNG project has been ``fully tested'' and talks are underway with the government on fiscal terms, Port Moresby-based Oil Search said in a presentation lodged with the Australian Stock Exchange, according to a Bloomberg report. Oil Search may own between 28 percent and 32 percent of the venture, once the state and landowners take up stakes. The group is studying tapping gas from the Hides…

Oil is the key corner of the development process of Yemeni economy. The Ministry of Oil and Minerals headed by the Minister Khalid M. Bahah and the Petroleum Exploration Production Authority (PEPA) have launched a massive campaign promoting Yemens offshore oil blocks. Recently, the Ministry held a promotional conference to highlight the features of investing in Yemen and to call on investors to place their bids for the new 11 Offshore Oil blocks that are up for grabs. The blocks are located in the Red Sea, blocks 55, 22 and 23; Gulf of Aden, blocks 46, 61, 62 and 63 and Socotra basin, blocks 93, 94, 95, and 96. The conference was a success with more than 40 big oil firms attending including Shell, British Petroleum, Exxon Mobil, Oxy, Nexen, Oil Search and CCC.

Oil Search Limited and Halliburton have signed an agreement to renew an alliance that was originally formed in 2004. The multimillion-dollar contract covers three years, with the option for two additional years. The agreement calls for Halliburton to provide a full range of subsurface services, including drilling and formation evaluation, slickline, fluids, cementing services and production enhancement in Papua New Guinea where Oil Search is the industry leader in oil and gas exploration and development. Some of the Halliburton technology to be provided includes InSite AFR (Azimuthal Focused Resistivity) logging-while-drilling imaging sensors to aid positioning in the reservoir…

Oil Search Ltd said it has signed a cost sharing agreement (CSA) with its joint venture participants in the Hides, Angore and Juha fields, to study the opportunity to develop a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project. An estimated $60mis expected to be spent on the LNG project studies over the next year with Oil Search expected to fund a minimum 32 pct of the CSA. Oil Search said the joint venture partners have an option, up until the end of June 2007, to participate in the CSA studies and Oil Search is presently reviewing this option as part of assessing its overall direction in developing LNG. Source: AFX

A major offshore search for oil and gas is now underway in the Solander Basin, southwest of Invercargill. Christchurch-based L & M Petroleum recently began a 1,000km offshore seismic survey in what is the biggest exploration in the region for two decades, and the company says preliminary results are promising. L & M Group says four large prospects and numerous leads have been identified and the current survey has been designed to enhance some of the larger targets prior to drilling. L & M also holds onshore Petroleum Exploration Permits covering the Waiau and Te Anau Basins where two drilling programs will be ready for testing within weeks. (Source: Newswire.co.nz)