InterOil Corp., Total SA’s partner in a natural gas venture in Papua New Guinea, said it suspended drilling in a nearby exploration block due to high pressures that can threaten the safety of the rig.
While operations at the Wahoo-1 well have been delayed, InterOil recorded significant levels of methane, ethane, propane and butane, the Singapore-based company said today in an e- mailed statement. Further work is needed before Wahoo can be considered a discovery, InterOil said.
InterOil will resume operations as soon as possible after a review and regulatory approval, it said. InterOil is exploring in blocks surrounding its Elk and Antelope gas discoveries with Paris-based Total. Drilling in those areas began in March as part of a $300million program.
InterOil and Total want to use supplies from the Elk and Antelope fields to develop Papua New Guinea’s second liquefied natural gas development. Exxon Mobil Corp.’s $19billion LNG project started shipments earlier this year.