Papua New Guiena KUMUL Petroleum Holdings Ltd (KPHL) will source funding from overseas to develop gas fields in Kimu, Barikewa and Uramu gas fields in Kikori, Gulf, managing director Wapu Sonk says.
He said funding would depend on the type of development the company chose to go with.
Sonk was responding to queries from The National following the handing over of the petroleum retention licences (PRL) 48, 49 and 50, covering the gas fields of Kimu, Barikewa and Uramu to KPHL two weeks ago.
“As a good business practice, KPHL will look to invite potential investment partners into the licences to share the risk and then develop the fields together,” he said.
“Again, economics of the type of development option drives who joins as partners to KPHL.
“There are no other State-owned enterprises (SOEs) in oil and gas business except Kumul Petroleum so we will source funding from overseas mostly from different sources depending on size and type of development.
“The potential partners that join KPHL will also bring the capital, which is a pre-requisite to the partnership for development.”
During the hand-over of the licence earlier this month, Sonk said those licences, previously 8, 9 and 10, were held by Oil Search Ltd, Santos and other operators, however it had expired.
“They held the licences for 15 years which is the maximum amount of time you can hold on to a licence under the ‘retention licence’ provisions in the Oil and Gas Act,” he said.
“Once it expired, the licence goes back to the Department of Petroleum.
“The department put out a Gazette notice which is like advertising that the licences had become available, that’s when other interested parties apply.
“We don’t know who applied at that stage, but we applied at that time and was awarded the licences.”
Petroleum Minister Kerenga Kua said that KPHL were among others who had applied for the licenses when it expired.
He said that after careful deliberation and consideration by the petroleum advisory board, it made recommendations to the Government who then accepted and signed off those licenses to KPHL.
Kimu and Barikewa fields are onshore and Uramu is offshore in the shallow waters of Kikori area.
The three fields have an estimated 2C resource estimate of slightly over 2TCF (trillion cubic feet) of gas with approximately 50-60 million barrels condensate.
The National / Pacific Mining Watch
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