There is currently a record number (over 50) of Petroleum Prospecting Licenses (PPLs) blanketing almost the entire onshore and offshore Papuan Basin and most of the North New Guinea Basin.
Most of the tenements outside the Fold Belt are held by junior explorers and a number of these have signed joint venture agreements to meet their drilling commitments.
Currently, there are four oil projects in the central Highlands (Southern Highlands) of PNG- Kutubu, Gobe, Moran, SE Manada and one gas project at Hides. There are many undeveloped gas fields in the country with proven and probable reserves of over 14 trillion cubic feet of gas.
The PNG LNG Project led by Exxon Mobil PNG LNG is a US$15 billion development that includes gas production and processing facilities in the Southern Highlands and Western Provinces of Papua New Guinea with a capacity of 6.6 million tons per year.
The project infrastructure extends over four provinces and involves the commercializing of the Hides, Angore and Juha fields and the associated natural gas resources in the country operating oil fields of Kutubu, Agogo, Gobe and Moran in the Southern Highlands and Western Provinces.
The gas will be treated at a gas conditioning plant at Hides then transported via a over 700 kilometers (450 miles) of pipeline connecting the facilities to the storage facility to be located 29km North West of Port Moresby.
The LNG Project represents the single largest investment ever made in the country. It will be a great achievement for PNG to join the exclusive club of LNG producing nations and once a core plant is established, additional trains can be readily added in the future.