InterOil to boost PNG investment

INTEROIL Corp plans to increase capital investment in Papua New Guinea following the closure of the recent US$70 million (K188 million) direct stock offering.
“We believe we are now in the best financial position in our history … the company is on track to achieve a robust and vibrant future.
“We intend to take advantage created by the current global downturn in industry activity to accelerate our upstream (exploration) activities,” Bill Jasper, InterOil president, said when he announced the capital investment plan.
He said InterOil was currently inspecting a number of drilling rigs with the aim of purchasing an additional rig for use in its Gulf province exploration programme (Elk/Antelope 1).
Mr Jasper said the company also planned to acquire additional seismic data to delineate the Elk/Antelope structure and to prioritise a number of adjacent prospects.
“This increased activity should accelerate our growth plans and position us to develop and derive greater value from our asset base,” he said.
Gas from the Elk/Antelope fields is expected to feed the proposed InterOil-led liquefied natural gas project of which InterOil is a foundation member.
The project is expected to boost job generation, government revenues and balance of payments position.