LNG Exports from PNG to Lift GDP Growth in Pacific

Gas exports from Papua New Guinea are expected to lift GDP growth in the Pacific in 2015, according to a new report by Asian Development Bank (ADB).

“GDP growth in the Pacific reached 6.1% in 2014, accelerating for the first time in 3 years as natural gas exports began in Papua New Guinea (PNG), the subregion’s largest economy, and expansion picked up in most other economies. In 2015, the first full year of gas production in PNG, growth in the Pacific is expected to peak at 10.7% before falling back to 4.5% in 2016, with only a few economies growing faster than in the previous year,” the report said.

The PNG LNG project has now shipped 65 LNG cargoes to its customers. The project is expected to load more than 90 cargoes in 2015, Oil Search, a partner in the ExxonMobil led project said in its quarterly earnings report earlier this year.

The PNG LNG project is an integrated development that includes gas production and processing facilities in the Southern Highlands, Hela, Western, Gulf and Central provinces of Papua New Guinea. The Project is expected to produce more than 9 trillion cubic feet of gas over the estimated 30 years of operations.

Earlier this month, InterOil Corporation said PNG Elk-Antelope LNG project would potentially be the lowest cost new-build LNG project in the world.

“Independent analysis suggests Elk-Antelope is the most competitive new-build LNG project globally, with the potential for superior returns even at low commodity prices,” InterOil Chief Executive Michael Hession said while announcing company’s financial results.