Papua New Guinea expects to start exporting its first liquefied natural gas or LNG from a plant run by ExxonMobil in 2013-14.
The Planning Minister, Paul Tiensten, told the CWC World LNG Summit yesterday that PNG is on course to achieve a final investment decision by the end of 2009 and the first LNG in 2013 or early 2014.
Mr Tiensten told Reuters at the same event last year that a final investment decision on the project with a capacity of 6.3 million tonnes per year would be taken in May next year, but that there was plenty of gas to justify at least two LNG production lines, or trains.
Papua New Guinea is an oil producer but does not yet export gas. Significant amounts of gas have been found during drilling for oil.
The project is owned by Exxon Mobil and Papua New Guinea's Oil Search Limited.
