TotalEnergies in new Papua LNG milestone

French energy major TotalEnergies has announced the launch of the first phase of front-end engineering and design (FEED) studies for the Papua LNG project’s upstream production facilities.

On 20 July, TotalEnergies, as the operator, announced the decision of the Papua LNG joint venture to launch the first phase of these FEED studies.

In parallel, studies for the downstream liquefaction facilities are progressing in line with the overall project schedule, according to TotalEnergies. The objective is to launch the integrated FEED in the fourth quarter of 2022.

The project is targeting a final investment decision (FID) around the end of 2023, and a start-up at the end of 2027.

“The commencement of upstream FEED studies is another significant step towards developing the Papua LNG project, which will increase Papua New Guinea’s LNG export capacity and thus contribute to its further development,” said Julien Pouget from TotalEnergies.

“The Papua LNG project is well positioned to contribute to growth in LNG supply worldwide, especially for customers in Asia seeking to decarbonise from coal to gas, in line with our strategy to lower global greenhouse gas emissions.”

The Papua LNG joint venture wants to develop a landmark project in terms of sustainability, biodiversity, and low carbon emissions. Specifically, the project will incorporate a carbon capture and storage scheme for the fields’ native CO2, which will be reinjected into the reservoirs.

The project is a partnership between Total E&P PNG Limited (TEP PNG) which is the project operator with a 40.13 per cent stake. There are also joint venture partners ExxonMobil with37.03 per cent and Oil Search Limited with 22.84 per cent.