Papua New Guinea in crosshairs: Exxon

Papua New Guinea said Monday it would seek better deals on ExxonMobil’s next gas development projects in the country, just as the US major announced it was exceeding planned production at its PNG LNG plant.

Exxon executives told a conference that the company was on track to deliver some 7.9 million tonnes of LNG from the plant this year, some 15% more than its nominal capacity of 6.9 million tpy.

Additionally, Exxon, which is the biggest foreign investor in the country, recently proposed a plan to invest some USD 10 billion in gas development there. Yet Papua New Guinea will seek to obtain increased social benefits from the investment plan while at the same time keeping conditions competitive, Prime Minister Peter O’Neill told Reuters.

“We will be asking for more domestic market obligations, local content in terms of the benefits that go to our people from developing this project,” he said. “We are going to be fair.”

In recent months ExxonMobil and locally focused partner Oil Search have stepped up their exploration and development activities in the country. In November, they spudded the Muruk-1 gas exploration well in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, while weeks earlier they struck a deal to jointly acquire licences in deepwater assets off its shores.

In other news, ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson is being considered by US President-elect Donald Trump as a possible pick for secretary of state, Politico reported on Sunday. Tillerson is among several names being floated, including West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat.