PNG LNG Project awarded the 2014 CWC LNG Innovation Asia Pacific Award

SINGAPORE – The PNG LNG Project, operated by ExxonMobil PNG Limited, received the esteemed CWC LNG Innovation Asia Pacific Award last week on Wednesday 24 September 2014, at a glamorous dinner event, hosted by Trafigura, at the SEA Aquarium on Sentosa Island, Singapore. The award recognizes a company operating in the Asia Pacific LNG industry that has excelled themselves in the previous 12 months in terms of commercial or technical innovation. 

The PNG LNG Project is a joint venture between ExxonMobil, Oil Search, National Petroleum Company of PNG, Santos, JX Nippon Oil and Gas Exploration, Mineral Resources Development Company and Petromin PNG Holdings. The PNG Government holds a 19.6 percent stake in the Project.

Mr Yow-Yeen Lee, PNG LNG Senior Project Manager, accepted the award and said, “I would like to acknowledge and thank all the people who made this Project a reality—the 55,000 project team members who collectively worked over 200 million hours; our Project co-venturers; as well as the many financing entities of commercial banks and export credit agencies.”

The PNG Project delivered its first LNG cargo on 25 May this year to the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) in Japan. It has since shipped more than 25 cargoes to customers in Asia. It is estimated that the PNG LNG project will produce more than 9 trillion cubic feet of gas over the next 30 years.

Delegates who participated in the 6^th World LNG Series Asia Pacific Summit (LNG Asia) voted for the award winner. Participants included global leaders of the LNG industry and government representatives.  

The 2014 finalists for the awards were:

1. Singapore LNG Corporation - Security of gas supply for the Singapore market remains SLNG’s top priority. In the past one year, SLNG stabilized commercial operations at the LNG terminal, ramping up Throughput Services to cater to about 20% of the Singapore gas market. In September 2013, SLNG performed its first LNG ship cool-down operation.
2. Mozambique LNG - Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) has inked deals to sell gas from Mozambique at a hybrid price that combines Henry Hub and world oil prices and factors in costs for shipping and treatment.
   
3. Yamal LNG – Owners have taken a final investment decision for Yamal LNG. The 16.5-million tonne/year liquefaction plant will be built on the Yamal Peninsula on the Kara Sea with first-train start-up set for around 2017 and the recent (world first) commissioning of 16 icebreaker tankers, each able to transport 170, 000 m³.
   
4. Petronas – Reached final investment decision for its second floating LNG (FLNG) project. Meanwhile PFLNG 1 is to be ready for start-up ready around end of 2015
   
5. PNG LNG - Successful startup  of both trains – with a faster ramp up than expected and a move to full contract volumes before the end of the year and its maiden shipment to Japan's Tokyo Electric Power Co.
   
6. SEMPRA LNG - FID on 3 trains at Cameron using a successful project structure that led to 100% of the output sold and the single largest project finance deal in the United States history
   

Selection of the award candidates was based upon the company that has made a positive commercial or technical contribution to the LNG business over the last year in one or more of the following areas:

• Innovation – through technical or commercial innovation, the organisation which has made a positive change to the industry in the Asia Pacific region
  
• Activities – through activities, the organisation which has made an outstanding contribution to the industry and shown itself to be an industry leader in any specific part of the LNG chain in the Asia Pacific region
  
• Knowledge – through development of people, the organisation that has expanded knowledge and learning within commercial or technical aspects of the LNG industry in the Asia Pacific region