PNG LNG on track

Exxon Mobil announces that the project is 90% complete and on budget.

Andrew Mudie

Andrew joined the growing team of Motley Fool freelance writers in mid-2013 following years of personal development as a passionate self-taught sharemarket investor. At the time, Andrew was an engineer by trade, writer by hobby, and an investing nerd by passion who spent far too many breaks reading, writing and learning. Andrew’s first investing lesson came with his first stock selection in 2011 when takeover rumours caused a spike and subsequent plunge in the share price of Woodside and then the 21% fall in the market through mid-2011. The next four years of investing saw Andrew dabble in a vast array of strategies until settling on his favourite investment methodology, which is closely aligned with that of the Motley Fool: Fundamentals-based long-term buy-and-hold of great companies at great prices.

Published September 4, 2013 2:05 pm AEST

The operator of the massive PNG LNG project, Esso Highlands, has confirmed that the liquefied natural gas project is more than 90% complete, on budget, and on schedule to deliver the first gas in the second half of 2014.

Esso Highlands is a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), and will operate the $19 billion project on behalf of joint venture partners Oil Search (ASX: OSH), NPCP, Santos (ASX: STO), JX Nippon, PNG government- owned Mineral Resources Development Company, and Petromin PNG holdings.

The project is the largest commercial development ever attempted in PNG and employed 19,000 people during the recently completed build phase. The next phase, commissioning, involves powering the LNG plant from a nearby processing facility to allow for testing of the new facilities to start.

Once online, the project will more than double the revenue of Oil Search, and will contribute significantly to the revenue of the other joint venture partners.

Editor's Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) has a stake in the joint venture. This has been corrected.

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Motley Fool contributor Andrew Mudie does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this article.

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