Exxon Mobil has secured an additional $1.5 billion in debt financing for its $19 billion Papua New Guinea liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, its project partner Oil Search said on Friday.
The $1.5 billion in supplemental financing will help cover overruns at the 6.9 million tonne per year LNG development, where costs climbed to $19 billion from $15.7 billion late last year.
PNG LNG remains on track to deliver its first LNG cargoes in 2014, Oil Search said.
Partners in PNG LNG, led and operated by Exxon Mobil subsidiary Esso Highlands Ltd, include Oil Search, National Petroleum Company Papua New Guinea (NPCP), Santos, JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration, Papua New Guinea's Mineral Resources Development Company and Petromin PNG Holdings Limited.
The PNG LNG project is Papua New Guinea's biggest-ever resources development and could lift GDP by 20 percent.
