Kumul obtains funding to purchase PNG LNG stake from Santos

Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) Kumul Petroleum Holdings has secured funding to acquire 2.6% of PNG LNG stake from Australian energy company Santos.

According to Santos, Kumul paid approximately $250 million into escrow with Santos as part payment of the purchase price and executed binding funding arrangements for the remainder of the consideration, which will be available for drawdown by January 31, 2024.

Furthermore, Santos said that the PNG Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC) approved the transaction, satisfying the only condition precedent to the transaction.

The commercial terms of the transaction remain unchanged.

To remind, Santos executed a binding sale agreement to deliver Kumul a 2.6% participating interest in PNG LNG in August 2023.

At the time, Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape said the transaction supports the government’s objectives for the people of PNG to have a greater equity interest in the development of their natural resources.

• Santos agrees to sell 2.6% stake in PNG LNG to Kumul

The initial offer for the stake in PNG LNG was made in September 2022 and was extended a few times.

PNG LNG, operated by ExxonMobil PNG, is an integrated development that is commercializing the gas resources of Papua New Guinea, and according to ExxonMobil, the operations have the capacity to produce more than 8.3 million tons of LNG.

The project’s co-venturers include ExxonMobil, Kumul, Santos, JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration and Mineral Resources Development Company (MRDC).