Petromin PNG Enters into Agreement with DSME E&R and Hoegh LNG (Papua New Guinea)

Papua New Guinea’s national oil, gas and minerals company, Petromin PNG Holdings Limited, today entered into a Cooperative Development Agreement (CDA) with two international partners to investigate the prospects of introducing LNG Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) technology to Papua New Guinea.

The partners are DSME E&R (ENR) a subsidiary of Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) of South Korea, and Höegh LNG of Norway (HLNG).

Both companies have worked on the shipping and processing components of the LNG FPSO technology respectively, and the technology is ready for immediate implementation.

In a joint statement the Managing Director of Petromin Mr Joshua Kalinoe, the Chief Executive Officer of DSME E&R Mr. Jin Seok Kim, and Board Director of Höegh LNG Mr. Andrew Jamieson, said the CDA provides for a tripartite partnership among the companies to carry out a joint study to determine the technical and economic viability of developing the gas reserves of Papua New Guinea using LNG FPSO technology.

“We have agreed to work together by entering into a Cooperative Development Agreement signed today, to introduce the technology to Papua New Guinea.

We have commenced an economic and technical feasibility study in order to provide a competitive option to any gas owners in the Gulf of Papua, including the ELK/Antelope LNG project,” they said.

HLNG and DSME have over several years developed LNG FPSO technology.

The vessel and the processing systems will be constructed at the DSME ship yard in South Korea; first cargo is anticipated for mid to late 2014 if a final investment decision is made by 31st December 2010.

The processing facility, which would be capable of producing up to three (3) million tons of LNG annually, will be located in Gulf of Papua in the Gulf Province.

During infrastructure construction, significant employment opportunities will be created: the operation phase will employ about three hundred people.

The parties will jointly operate the LNG FPSO facilities under the leadership of HLNG and ENR, where Papua New Guineans will be trained to operate the systems and processes of both the ship and the processing facilities.

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Source: Hoegh, July 14, 2010;