Welcome Balang/Changcheng, Goodbye Repsol It has been a long...

Welcome Balang/Changcheng, Goodbye Repsol
It has been a long time coming, but Repsol's PNG exit, and a new PNG JV partner will surely breathe new life into our PNG assets.

A New JV Partner

From the HZN/Repsol announcement
Dai Ying Xiang, Chairman of Balang, commented: “Balang is committed to develop the discovered resources in these assets, with the potential for PNG’s next liquefied natural gas (LNG) project to be a reality in the very near future. This deal is great news for PNG, and for the people of the Western Province in particular.”

Given that Changcheng/Balang have just spent a significant amount to enter PNG; given their statement above; given the PNG Government's use-it-or-lose-stance; and that they want to use the gas (presumably in China), it is reasonable to assume that they would already have a development timeframe in mind. This is likely to coincide with the projected LNG shortage that HZN is using to formulate their development plan.

The fact that Changcheng is relatively small compared to the big boys like XOM, CNOOC, etc, they will not have numerous projects competing for their capital. So assuming that FEED continues to show that WLNG is economically robust, I believe that WLNG FID will be made with minimal fuss.