Oil Search: PNG LNG hits record quarterly production

ExxonMobil-operated PNG LNG project recorded an annualized production rate of 8.6 mtpa during the quarter ended September 30, the highest since coming onstream in 2014. 

“The LNG project bumped Oil Search’s quarterly production to an all-time high quarterly production of 7.91 mmboe during the third quarter,” the company’s managing director Peter Botten said, adding that the total production for nine months of 2017 reached 22.72 mmboe.

“Since the PNG LNG Project compressor upgrades took place in May, production from the Project has increased substantially, with the plant averaging 8.6 MTPA during the third quarter,” he said, adding that the project now operates at approximately 25 percent above nameplate capacity.

The second phase of compressor upgrades are scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2017, which Oil Search expects to result in further production optimisation.

During the quarter, 32,851 billion Btu of LNG was sold, 9 percent higher than sales volumes in the second quarter of 2017.

The project dispatched 29 LNG cargoes during the period, compared to 27 cargoes in the previous quarter, of which 21 were sold under long-term contract and eight on the spot market, with three cargoes on the water at the end of the quarter.

The average price realized for LNG and gas sales decreased 6 percent to $7.48/mmBtu, reflecting the approximate three month lag between the spot oil price and LNG contract prices.

LNG World News Staff