InterOil (NYSE: IOC) is continuing negotiations with a subsidiary of ExxonMobil (XOM -2.78%) to develop its natural gas fields in Papua New Guinea, InterOil announced today.
InterOil's talks with ExxonMobil Papua New Guinea, or EMPNG, are going forward even after their exclusivity agreement to develop Petroleum Retention License 15 expired.
According to an earlier Motley Fool article, even though the natural gas reserves in Papua New Guinea are vast, monetizing those reserves would require transporting the gas globally in a liquified state. The capital to build the infrastructure needed to transform the natural gas into transportable LNG form would be beyond InterOil's means, hence InterOil's announced plans to shelve its own LNG facility plans and to continue its efforts to be an EMPNG natural gas supplier.
InterOil also announced that it has obtained a $75 million secured loan to use for its exploration and drilling program.
InterOil is a Houston-based company, but its primary focus is in Papua New Guinea, where it has licenses covering 3.9 million acres, an oil refinery, and retail and commercial distribution facilities.
