Twinza Oil is getting closer to producing gas from the Gulf of Papua according to Managing Director Huw Evans. He has outlined ambitious plans for Papua New Guinea’s first offshore hydrocarbons development.

Twinza Oil jack-up drilling rig Credit: Twinza Oil

Evans told a resources conference that the aim is for the Singapore-based company to move to production in 2021.

‘We will be producing 220,000 tonnes of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) annually—20,000 barrels of liquid per day—which will be roughly 55 per cent condensate and 45 per cent LPG.

‘It will be stored on the offshore vessel and then taken either into the domestic market or for international sales.’

‘PNG currently imports LPG indirectly from the Middle East via Australia, so it is very high cost.

‘Twinza will target import replacement.’

Not new

The Pasca A gas condensate field, a carbonate pinnacle reef in the Gulf of Papua, is not a new find.

Map of Pasca A field in Gulf of Papua

It was discovered in 1968 but it has lain dormant because of there has been no commercially viable development solution.

‘We are surrounded by two trillion cubic feet of discoveries.’

Improvements in drilling efficiency, production technology and development engineering have made the discovery technically and financially viable.

Evans says the site is about 70 minutes from Port Moresby by helicopter, and 14 hours by boat.

It is 120 kilometres from Western Province and 90 kilometres from Gulf Province.

The reserve is in 93 meters of water, considered a shallow to intermediate depth. The area is highly prospective.

Third party access

Evans says the Pasca A facilities will have third party access, enabling the commercialisation of other gas projects.

‘We are surrounded by two trillion cubic feet of discoveries.

‘It is well overdue for development and it is not the only one. There are a number of other gas fields that are available for development.

‘With our infrastructure, hopefully we will be the catalysts.’

‘The company is close to agreeing terms for a gas agreement with the Government.’

‘It is a very simple and straightforward field development because we can very clearly see our target under the ground.

‘That is different from onshore, which is challenging because of the seismic issues.

‘It is a fantastic reservoir (which will have) high production performance.

‘One of the characteristics of PNG, which is very favourable for development, is the extremely high flow rates that we have in the individual wells.’

Agreement

Evans says the company is close to agreeing terms for a gas agreement with the Government.

Twinza has completed planning for installation work, environmental impact statements, concept engineering through to pre-FEED (front-end engineering design), tendering for all of the major components of the facilities, a macro-economic impact study, a field development plan and a local content plan.

There are no landownership issues because the site is offshore, but the company is negotiating with government about how best to distribute the benefits.

‘We are looking to put as much LPG as we can into PNG at lower prices, targeting diesel replacement wherever we can,’ says Evans.

‘Because we return production rates so quickly, the cash flow is very high, so the return to the government is almost immediate.

‘They get tax revenue and royalty revenue virtually immediately and Kumul Petroleum as a partner have an equity stake in it as well. So there is a very good return to the State at relatively low cost.’

The initial shareholders of the company, which is incorporated in Australia, are the Clough family, who founded Clough Engineering.

Twinza is also backed by the private equity fund Kerogen Capital.