Crunch time for gas project

The government is eager to see an initial sales agreement signed as soon as possible for a gas export project to Australia. This project will bring vital revenues to an ailing economy and its successful completion will go a long way to determining the future of the country’s oil and gas sector. David Townsend reports

A DECISION IS expected this month on whether to proceed with the development of the planned integrated natural gas export project, viewed as vital for Papua New Guinea's (PNG) economy. Francis Lola, assistant director of PNG's department of petroleum and energy, says the government is pinning all its hopes on the project being approved and that an announcement on first sales could be made this month. Speaking on the fringes of June's World Gas Conference meeting, in Tokyo, Lola said ExxonMobil - one of the project's sponsors - was working on marketing the gas to Australian customers, but still needed to secure minimum contracts for part of the gas in order to proceed. Project delays continue