Page 11 - GLNG Week 47

GLNG AUSTRALASIA GLNG
PNG “disappointed” by ExxonMobil’s rejection of P’nyang terms
POLICY
PNG Minister for Petroleum and
Energy Kerenga Kua has expressed his disappointment with ExxonMobil’s rejection of the government’s terms for P’nyang.
PAPUA New Guinea (PNG) Minister for Petro- leum and Energy Kerenga Kua has said he is disappointed with ExxonMobil’s rejection of the government’s terms for the proposed P’nyang natural gas project.
Kua said on November 22 that the govern- ment’s negotiating team had drawn up terms that were “in line with international standards”. He added: “It is disappointing ExxonMobil has refused to even consider these terms and we urge them to reconsider their position.”
The P’nyang project, located in the West- ern Highlands, will support a three-train expansion of ExxonMobil’s PNG LNG termi- nal at Caution Bay near Port Moresby. Under the proposed expansion, one train will use gas from the P’nyang and PNG LNG fields as feedstock, while another two trains will use gas associated with the Total-led Papua LNG project.
The government approved the Papua LNG gas agreement in September after Total agreed to make several minor concessions. However, Kua warned at the time that Port Moresby would press ExxonMobil for “far better” terms on P’nyang.
While the minister’s statement last week
did not detail the new terms offered to the US super-major, Kua noted that they were com- parative to similar projects in Indonesia and Malaysia. The Australian Financial Review, however, reported that the government’s terms included a higher tax rate and a higher domestic gas requirement than had been stipulated in the Papua LNG deal.
The minister said: “The [negotiating team] is committed to working with international oil companies to develop our natural resources as quickly as possible to support the development of PNG – but our resources cannot become money‐making machines for oil companies at the expense of the nation. We must get a fair deal.”
He said the government intended to invest the country’s share of revenue from P’nyang in national electrification and infrastructure initiatives.
Kua has previously said PNG’s government has the option of deferring the P’nyang project until proposed new oil and gas legislation and a revised fiscal regime are introduced in 2020. But he added that it was more beneficial to have the P’nyang agreement negotiated and signed under the existing Oil and Gas Act 1998.™
EUROPE
Elengy, Rubis team up on LNG storage facility
PROJECTS & COMPANIES
FRANCE’S Elengy and Rubis Terminal announced last week that they had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on launching preliminary studies on the construc- tion of an LNG storage facility to meet local retail demand for the fuel.
The proposed storage facility, which would be located at France’s Reichstett terminal, would have the capacity to handle 85,000 tonnes per year (tpy) of LNG. Commissioning is scheduled for 2022. The facility’s location would allow it to serve an area that includes eastern France, Aus- tria, southern Germany and Switzerland, at a competitive price, the partners said in a Novem- ber 22 statement.
The companies also expect the project to con- tribute to a reduction in road traffic and related environmental impacts as the storage facility would be supplied by rail from one of Elengy’s terminals – either Fos Tonkin or Montoir-de- Bretagne. Customers will then have their LNG delivered by trucks loaded directly on the site, they added.
Through development of the facility, the
partners expect to boost connectivity between retail LNG infrastructures in Europe, as well as contributing to the security of LNG supply for the industrial and transport sectors.
“The co-operation with Rubis Terminal is in line with Elengy’s strategy to boost the develop- ment of the LNG as alternative fuel by bringing the supply closer to the clients,” said Elengy’s CEO. Sandra Roche-Vu Quang. “Elengy is pur- suing its industrial ambition to offer innovative energy transition services, particularly for road transport,” she added.
“The development of LNG projects is part of Rubis Terminal’s approach to adapt its ser- vices and infrastructure to the changing energy demand,” added Rubis’ CEO, Bruno Hayem.
The project comes amid a rise in LNG deliv- eries by truck – which allow industrial sites not connected to the natural gas grid to receive sup- ply. Elengy has loaded 20,000 LNG trucks at its three terminals since launching its truck-loading service in 2013. And this figure is set to grow fur- ther following the recent addition of new loading slots at the Fos Cavaou terminal.™
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