Papua New Guinea
In Papua New Guinea we produce oil in various fields in the Highlands Area. Production commenced in the PNG LNG project in April 2014, representing our third LNG project after the Tiga project in Malaysia and the Tangguh project in Indonesia. We are continuing to work towards stable long-term LNG production and revenues.
PNG Oil Fields
We have been involved in oil exploration and development projects, including the Kutubu and Moran fields, since 1990. In 2008 we increased our oil field interests through acquisition of interests owned by AGL.
Kutubu, Moran and Other Fields
| Company Holding the Acreage | Merlin Petroleum Company |
|---|---|
| Shareholders (Shareholding Percentages) | Japan Papua New Guinea Petroleum Company 40.7% Nippon Oil Exploration (PNG) Pty Ltd 38.9% Marubeni Corporation 20.4% |
| Interest | 8.3%-73.5% |
| Partners | ◎Oil Search ExxonMobil Santos Kumul Petroleum MRDC |
| Net Production | 6,700BOE/D |
Note: ◎ operator
Oil Production in Highland Areas
Many of Papua New Guinea's oil fields contain medium- to small-scale reserves and are located in the mountainous and jungle areas of the highlands. While this makes much of the exploration and development work difficult, we have also identified several promising structures in these areas. We are currently carrying out exploration and development activities to increase crude oil production in the territory.
Project History
Kutubu, Moran and Other Fields
| 2008 December | Acquired oil field interests from AGL |
|---|---|
| 2002 September | Started production at Moran oil field |
| 1998 April | Started production at SE Gobe oil field |
| 1998 March | Started production at Gobe oil field |
| 1992 June | Started production at Kutubu oil field |
| 1990 July | Acquired interests in various onshore blocks through purchase of shares (100%) of Merlin Petroleum Company |
PNG LNG Project
Our Papua New Guinea LNG project is commercializing natural gas in the Hides, Angore and Juha fields, as well as associated gas from the oil fields of Kutubu, Moran and Gobe. Gas is transported from upstream facilities via a 300-kilometer onshore pipeline and a 400-kilometer offshore pipeline to an LNG plant near Port Moresby. Four long-term sales and purchase agreements have been made with electric and gas utilities in Japan and other buyers in China and Taiwan for the gas.
| Company Holding the Acreage | Nippon Papua New Guinea LNG LLC |
|---|---|
| Shareholders (Shareholding Percentages) | Merlin Petroleum Company 100.0% |
| Interest | 4.7% |
| Partners | ◎ExxonMobil Oil Search Santos Kumul Petroleum MRDC |
| Net Production | 9,300BOE/D |
Note: ◎ operator
Project History
| 2014 April | Started LNG production at PNG LNG project |
|---|---|
| 2009 December | Final Investment Decision for PNG LNG Project |
| 2008 March | Signed joint venture agreement for PNG LNG Project |
Exploration Licenses
We are conducting exploration activities in APDL11 (former PPL219) through Nippon Oil Exploration (Niugini) Pty Ltd, established in January 2009.
APDL11
| Company Holding the Acreage | Nippon Oil Exploration (Niugini) Pty Ltd |
|---|---|
| Shareholders (Shareholding Percentages) | JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corporation 50.01% JOGMEC 49.99% (voting interest) |
| Interest | 20.0% |
| Partners | ◎Oil Search ExxonMobil |
Note: ◎ operator
Project History
APDL11 (Onshore)
| 2011 January | Observed oil through drilling of Mananda-5 exploration well |
|---|---|
| 2009 January | Acquired PPL219 (current APDL11) |
