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Gold/Mining/Energy : Lundin Oil (LOILY, LOILB Sweden) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tomas who wrote (606)	5/28/1998 9:36:00 PM
From: Tomas	Respond to of 2742

Papua New Guinea: We have a goer in gas pipeline Post Courier 29/05/98 Oil Search: We have a goer in gas pipeline ALTHOUGH there are still a number of obstacles to overcome, the partners in the PNG to Queensland gas project are expected to make firm commitments to the project by the end of the year. Oil Search managing director Peter Botten said chief among these were the appropriate approvals by both the PNG and Australian governments. Other issues that need ironing out and may involve delicate negotiations include legislation, landowner issues and benefits packages. Mr Botten said the pipeline project was market driven and the company was expecting a confirmation of potential Queensland customers for the PNG gas next month. He said apart from that, because the gas project was a huge one, there were many parts to it and these wre expected to come in one by one over the next few months. Oil Search's chairman Trevor Kennedy said the acquisition of BP's gas assets would improve the chances of a $A1.5 billion natural gas pipeline. ''We were able to offer with this deal the Hides reserves into the gas to Queensland project,'' Mr Kennedy said. ''There is now more than enough reserves, if we include the Hides reserve, to justify the capital expenditure.'' He told shareholders that with no significant petroleum projects on the horizon, the gas project would be a consistent source of revenue for the government and shareholders alike for at least 30 years. He said nothing will do more for Oil Search and PNG in the short to medium term than getting this project off the ground. The gas project is massive - the biggest ever proposed for PNG and will involve capital expenditures of $US3-$US4 billion. Mr Kennedy said it was important that PNG captured the market when it was available as any delays would jeopardise the project. ''We must understand that gas is not a scarce commodity - but markets for gas are scarce and the necessity to capture them when they are available is paramount. ''But let there be no misunderstanding, this is not going to be easy. There is enormous competition in the gas market, which we have to meet and beat. ''Windows of opportunity such as this do not come along often. It will demand all the ingenuity, imagination, initiative, discipline and energy we can bring to the opportunity to deliver it. ''This requires (all) joint venture partners and the government to put aside all our petty jealousies, personal rivalries and general prejudices in the overall pursuit of delivering an outcome,'' said Mr Kennedy. Earlier this month, Chevron Asiatic chose a consortium including AGL Ltd to build, own and operate the pipeline from the gas fields in PNG to north Queensland. Mr Botten said discussions on the PNG portion of the pipeline were still on-going among the joint venture partners. _ By RUTH WARAM 203.22.79.35