Exxon forces consolidation on Papua New Guinea’s LNG
The US firm’s deal for a stake in a second gas-export project looks like a defeat for rival operator Total. But the synergies make sense
Total looks to have relinquished a stake in its planned Papua LNG project to ExxonMobil after the US major successfully trumped an earlier takeover bid for InterOil by Oil Search, the French group's two partners in its planned Papua New Guinea gas project. It follows a similar A$11.6bn ($8.9bn) bid for Oil Search by Australia's Woodside Petroleum last year. At first sight, the tussle for Canadian-registered mid-cap InterOil appears counterintuitive in a region awash with liquefied natural gas. But the opportunity to extract significant, high-quality gas at low cost is what is driving the bids. Of prime appeal is InterOil's 36.5% interest in PNG's offshore tenement PRL 15, which includes the
Also in this section
5 March 2026
Gas is a central pillar of Colombia’s energy system, but declining production poses a significant challenge, and LNG will be increasingly needed as a stopgap. A recent major offshore gas discovery offers hope, but policy improvements are also required, Camilo Morales, secretary general of Naturgas, the Colombian gas association, tells Petroleum Economist
4 March 2026
The continent’s inventories were already depleted before conflict erupted in the Middle East, causing prices to spike ahead of the crucial summer refilling season
4 March 2026
The US president has repeatedly promised to lower gasoline prices, but this ambition conflicts with his parallel aim to increase drilling and could be upended by his war against Iran
4 March 2026
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed following US-Israel strikes and Iran’s retaliatory escalation, Fujairah has become the region’s critical pressure release valve—and is now under serious threat
