Governor welcomes all gas players

WESTERN Province governor Ati Wobiro says he has been told that ExxonMobil and Oil Search’s P’nyang field in the region is huge and of commercial value. Ketu-2 on clean up flow 2 hours into test - image courtesy of Horizon Oil. In an interview with Radio Australia, Wobiro said it would come on stream soon and spoke of discussions with the two oil companies at the recent PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum conference in Sydney. The economist told of his request that local people be trained and actively involved with development work for the field. In regard to gas-fired power opportunities in his province, the governor said the Stanley field gas would be used to power a project, “including Ok Tedi” and he wanted other electricity generated to be linked to government stations and villages. The project he is referring to is presumably the Xstrata-led Frieda River copper-gold project. Last year the feasibility study for this project was deferred by 12 months to investigate gas-fired power opportunities and the extended deadline is coming up in two weeks. “I see gas development as the catalyst for a broad based development and I am excited that I am in government and I am the head of the province and I am willing to work with the partners to make it happen,” Wobiro said in the radio interview. The Oil Search-managed and ExxonMobil-operated P’nyang South 1 appraisal well and its associated side track in Western province exceeded expectations in the evaluation since it hit a big gas zone in March. An industry source told PNGIndustryNews.net in October that it increased the P’nyang field’s resources by 2.5 trillion to 3 trillion cubic feet of gas. The field is already subject to studies over whether it can fuel a third train for the ExxonMobil-led PNG LNG project.