Interoil dumped by PNG Government, Royal Dutch Shell given thumbs up.

DUMPED
 IT is official. Royal Dutch Shell Plc is the government’s preferred operator for the InterOil discovered Elk and Antelope gas fields in Gulf.

This was categorically stated yesterday following recent exchanges in the media between InterOil and Petroleum Minister William Duma over the size of the second LNG project, its location and who should develop it.
InterOil was pursuing a small-scale fragmented pro­ject as opposed to its original agreement with the state for a large LNG plant to be developed by an internationally recognised operator.

Acting Petroleum and Energy secretary Rendle Rimua said in a statement that Shell was in a strategic partnership with the state-owned Petromin PNG Holdings Ltd “and is the state’s preferred operator”.
He said a National Executive Council submission acknowledged that “Shell is a strategic partner with the state’s nominee, Petromin”.
WELCOME

Rimua said his minister, Duma, had taken this position which had been endorsed by the NEC and “it remains the government’s official position in relation to the development of the gas located in the Elk/Antelope gas fields”.
Petromin spokesman Babani Maraga said yesterday Petromin had an “alliance agreement with Shell for joint upstream exploration opportunities”.

Petromin is an equity holder in the Elk/Antelope projects.
“Shell is the world’s number one LNG operator, as well as one of the internationally-recognised major upstream and midstream players in the hydrocarbon business. Shell is a world leader in floating LNG technology,” Maraga said.  

“The partnership with Petromin is in the best interest of PNG, especially in building capacity and transfer of technology in the manner we are now experiencing with the PNG LNG project, which is being operated by another world class LNG operator.”

He said Petromin would work with any world class LNG operator the state wished to bring into the country, including Shell, to develop the gas resources, which were owned by the state and people of Papua New Guinea.

Shell is in partnership with Petromin looking at preliminary exploration results of  the off-shore New Ireland basin oil and gas prospect.

- THE NATIONAL

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