Total wins right to develop PNG’s Elk-Antelope

OREANDA-NEWS. Papua New Guinea (PNG)-focused independent Oil Search has lost its bid to have US independent InterOil's sale of a 40.1pc stake in the Elk-Antelope upstream licence to Total declared void.

The International Chamber of Commerce found that Oil Search did not have pre-emptive rights over the 40.1pc stake and upheld Total's rights to form a joint venture with InterOil. Oil Search has no plans to appeal this decision, aiming to work with Total and InterOil to advance a proposed LNG project.

This win for Total clears the way for it to pursue the preferred option of a standalone two-train LNG project for the Elk-Antelope gas fields rather than using the gas for additional production trains for the ExxonMobil-operated 6.9mn t/yr PNG LNG project. Oil Search owns about 30pc of PNG LNG and had pushed to use the additional gas to underpin extra trains at that project.

Total aims to start initial engineering work this year on the Elk-Antelope LNG project and to reach some gas sales agreements for the project, with binding sales and purchase agreements by 2018.

The Elk-Antelope fields hold an estimated 5.4 trillion-9 trillion ft? (150bn-250bn m?) of reserves. Oil Search owns 22.84pc of the Elk-Antelope fields and InterOil holds the remainder.