Talks with oil and gas giant Exxon Mobil over an expansion of their huge LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) project in Papua New Guinea are at a standoff, with the company unwilling to negotiate on the country's terms, says PNG's petroleum minister.
Exxon Mobil PNG's LNG plant near Port Moresby Photo: (C)2014 {Richard Dellman/AdvantagePNG}, all rights reserved
Kerenga Kua said the state's negotiating team had set out draft terms for negotiations on developing the P'nyang gas field that were in line with international standards and would ensure a "fair deal" for PNG.
It was disappointing that Exxon has refused to consider the terms and PNG urged them to reconsider their position.
Reuters reports that the new delay to the P'nyang agreement will make it harder for Exxon and its partners Total SA, Oil Search and Santos Ltd to reach a final investment decision in 2020 on their plans to double LNG exports from the country.
Exxon Mobil's PNG spokesman said discussions with the PNG government were ongoing and an agreement was needed before decisions could be made on preliminary engineering and design for the expansion of its PNG LNG plant.
Kerenga Kua, Papua new Guinea's Minister for Petroleum. Photo: Loop PNG
