Exxon Mobil is looking to restart production at its LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) project in Papua New Guinea at the beginning of May.
LNG Project site in Papua new Guinea's Hela Province. Photo: RNZ / Johnny Blades
Project operations were suspended following a magnitude 7.5 earthquake in late February near Exxon's gas plant at Hides in Hela province
Some of the project's infrastructure in Hela sustained damage in the quake, which caused at least 125 deaths and widespread damage in the surrounding Highlands region.
In the intervening weeks, Exxon and its project partners have been assessing the overall damage.
It said there was no indication that the 700 km pipeline that delivers gas from Hela to a coastal LNG plant had been damaged by the quake.
Reuters reports Exxon LNG Vice President Emma Cochrane as saying the company hopes to re-start operations early next month.
P'nyang expansion concept
Ms Cochrane also said the company has found that the gas reserves in its P'nyang field in PNG's Western Province are higher than it previously thought.
The gas resource has increased to 4.36 trillion cubic feet of gas, an 84 percent increase from a previous assessment completed in 2012.
According to Ms Cochrane, this gives Exxon the potential to expand the P'nyang field facilities for the PNG LNG foundation project.
The president of ExxonMobil Development Company Liam Mallon said the increase in the estimated resource size of the P'nyang field helped illustrate the tremendous growth opportunities for the company's operations in PNG.
The development concept, which would add approximately 8 million tons of LNG annually, would double the capacity of the existing LNG plant operated by ExxonMobil.
"This investment would extend our gas pipeline infrastructure into the country's Western Province and have a meaningful and lasting economic impact for Papua New Guinea and its people," Mallon said.