Muruk discovery could be worth $US14 billion ($19.4bn):...

Muruk discovery could be worth $US14 billion ($19.4bn):

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/bus...t/news-story/35f948914104699fc7b56d5c3ddd756c

Oil Search and Santos have discovered $US14 billion ($19.4bn) of gas in the Papua New Guinea highlands in a find that could underpin a fifth liquefied natural gas production train at the recently started PNG LNG plant and has excited their giant partner ExxonMobil.

Oil Search and Santos, partners with Exxon in PNG LNG, both made relatively staid announcements about the Muruk discovery, which is now thought to hold about 2 trillion cubic feet of gas and is understood to have been viewed internally as having a one-in-five chance of success.

But Exxon, which is trying to secure more gas for PNG LNG through a $4bn takeover of New York-listed InterOil, was uncharacteristically vocal, telling the New York Stock Exchange it had made a new gas discovery.

“We are excited by the results of the Muruk-1 exploration well, which confirms the presence of hydrocarbons in the same high-quality sandstone reservoirs as the Hides field that underpins the PNG LNG project,” said Steve Greenlee, Exxon’s Houston-based head of global exploration.