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(5.37TCF) is producing for the PNG LNG project. Angore (1.079 TCF) and Juha (0.578 TCF) gas fields are part of the foundation PNG LNG project and they will be developed to support LNG production. 6.5. Exploration Potential PNG has five petroleum basins (see map and chart, right) with potential to hold hydrocarbon reserves: Papuan Basin, Cape Vogel Basin, New Ireland Basin, North New Guinea Basin and Bougainville Basin. The Papuan Basin is the only petroleum basin system in the country that has been fully explored and currently producing oil and gas with 89% licensed. The other four basins are still largely under explored and there could be potential for oil or more gas discoveries in the future. More effort and support from the state in terms of policies and incentives are required to encourage exploration in the four underexplored basins to unlock the oil potential in the country. 7.0 OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION PNG’s first production started in Kutubu in 1991 followed by Hides Gas to Electricity in 1992. PNG’s first oil refinery was commissioned in 2004 to process both local and imported oil. PNG’s first LNG cargo was exported in 2014. PNG’s oil production has been fast declining since 2000 with a remaining recoverable reserve of 48,872 MSTB (8%) as of December 2019. Without more oil discovery, PNG’s future in the petroleum sector lies in gas and LNG production. Only the Hides gas field is producing gas for the foundation PNG LNG project. Cumulative oil production for all oil fields as of December 2019 is shown (below) with each contributing field in percent shown (bottom ) with Kutubu contributing 69% of the total production. Cumulative gas production as of December 2019 is shown (next page). 7.1. Kutubu: The greater Kutubu oil fields were discovered in 1986 and production started in 1991, producing an average daily rate of 100,000 barrels and at peak performance, 150,000 barrels per day. Cumulative oil production from the Kutubu fields (Dec 2019) is 319,77 MSTB (95%). It has a remaining recoverable reserve of 17,807 MSTB (5%). The associated gas cap is now being produced as part of the PNG LNG project.
current major players. Since 2018, exploration in the petroleum sector has slowed due to the worldwide impact of the COVID-19 pandemic with a number of players leaving the country but it has been slowly picking up with new players also entering the industry. In addition, the shortage of foreign currency in the local economy has adversely affected the industry to some extent as companies struggle to secure enough foreign currency to sustain their operations in the country. 6.2. Discoveries Most of the commercial oil discoveries made to date such as Kutubu, Agogo, Moran, Gobe Main and South East Gobe have been in production since 1991 and these fields will be depleted soon with only 8% of their recoverable reserves remaining as of December 2019. Many of the gas fields discovered so far are marginal and stranded gas fields, located in some of the remote parts of the country, which makes it uneconomical to develop them. The Hides, Juha and Angore gas fields are major gas discoveries and are being developed as part of the PNG LNG project. Other major gas discoveries such as P’nyang field in PRL3, Elk and Antelope fields in PRL15, Elevala and Ketu gas fields in PRL21, Stanley gas field in PDL 10 and Paska gas field in PPL 328 are in their advanced development stages. 6.3. Oil Reserves Commercial discovery of oil was not until 1986 and production started in 1991 at Kutubu. Cumulative oil production as of December 2019 is 537,486 MSTB (92%). [MSTB: Thousand Stock Tank Barrels]. The country’s producing oil fields are now almost depleted with a remaining recoverable reserve of 48,872 MSTB as of December 2019. No new oil discovery has been made yet. Condensates from the gas fields are the only remaining oil reserves of the country. More effort from the state in terms of polices and incentives are required to encourage exploration in the four underexplored basins to unlock the oil potential in the country. Note: The discoveries list (in table, below) is not exhaustive and reserves of some discoveries are not stated due to lack of data in time for the compiling of this information paper. Marked with asterisk and highlighted in red are current producing oil and gas fields. The reserves indicated for those fields are the current remaining reserves as of December 2019. Only Hides is the producing gas field for the foundation PNG LNG project. 6.4. Gas Reserves PNG has an estimated total recoverable gas reserve (2P) of more than 25 trillion cubic feet of gas (tcf). All discovered gas fields are in the Papuan Basin and most of them are marginal and stranded. Out of this, 10 tcf is committed to the PNG LNG project, 6.2 tcf is committed to the Papua LNG project and 4.32 tcf is committed to the P’nyang LNG project. What remains of oil will be condensate production from the gas fields. Currently, only the Hides gas field Discoveries of oil and gas fields in PNG with their reserves and current operators.
Cumulative oil production Dec 2019
Oil field production contribution to PNG’s oil production as of December 2019
Source : 2019 Engineering Branch Reserves Report, DOP
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