(EnergyAsia, August 4 2011, Thursday) — NYSE-listed InterOil Corporation said it and Pacific LNG Operations Ltd have signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with Noble Clean Fuels Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore-listed Noble Group Limited, for the supply of one million tonnes per year (mt/y) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Papua New Guinea for 10 years.

 InterOil and Pacific LNG have set up a joint-venture company, Liquid Niugini Gas Ltd, to develop and tap the Elk and Antelope gas fields in Papua New Guinea using modular plants contracted with Energy World Corp Ltd and a fixed floating LNG facility being developed with Flex LNG Ltd and Samsung Heavy Industries Co., Ltd.

The agreement sets out the basis upon which the parties intend to conclude terms for the LNG supply starting 2014.

InterOil and Pacific LNG intend to complete negotiations and execute binding agreements with Noble later this year.

InterOil CEO Phil Mulacek said: “We are pleased to have executed our first HOA for LNG off-take from our Gulf LNG Project in Papua New Guinea. InterOil is proud to work with the Noble Group, which has a proven track record of providing long-term fuel supply to major utilities across Japan, South Korea, China, and Asia as a whole.”

Conrad Kerr, Liquid Niugini Gas’s LNG Marketing Vice President, said:

“Noble is a good fit for the InterOil strategy of mid-scale and FLNG LNG production, and LNG supply is a natural expansion of the Noble Group’s historical relationships in long-term coal supply for power generation.”

InterOil Corporation is developing a vertically integrated energy business, focusing on Papua New Guinea and the surrounding region. Its assets consist of petroleum licences covering about 3.9 million acres, an oil refinery, and retail and commercial distribution facilities, all located in Papua New Guinea. The company is a also shareholder in a joint venture established to construct an LNG plant in Papua New Guinea.

Noble Group manages a global supply network of agricultural and energy products, metals and minerals through more than 120 offices in 40 countries.

Pacific LNG is an affiliate of Clarion Finanz A.G, a private company specialized in energy and mining investments.

Pacific LNG owns an economic interest of approximately 20% in the Elk Antelope fields, 47.5 % of Liquid Niugini Gas and is a large shareholder of InterOil.