MOSCOW (MRC) -- US oil firm ExxonMobil, operator of a USD19 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Papua New Guinea, said the development is producing at full capacity after starting ahead of schedule earlier this year, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.
The milestone follows an increase in output in the last few months, Exxon’s PNG unit said Monday in an e-mailed response to questions.
The plant was expected to be operating at full capacity by the end of 2014, according to a report last week from Citigroup.
The project in the Pacific nation with partners including Oil Search and Santos is targeting an increase in Asian demand for natural gas. The companies are considering an expansion of the development after shipments began from the initial phase in May.
The first stage has a capacity of 6.9 million tpy of LNG. The development has long-term contracts with Tokyo Electric Power Co., CPC Corp. of Taiwan, Osaka Gas Co. and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp.
Beveridge said he expects Oil Search’s production for the year to be toward the high end of the company’s forecast of 17 million to 20 million bbl of oil equivalent.
As MRC wrote previously, ExxonMobil is in talks with state-run Turkish Petroleum Corporation over a venture to explore for shale gas in the country's southeast and northwest regions.
ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
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