Australian LNG player Santos has again agreed to extend the exclusivity period for the previously announced PNG LNG deal with Papua New Guinea’s national oil and gas company Kumul Petroleum.
In September last year, Santos received a binding offer from Kumul to buy a 5 percent stake in the PNG LNG project.
The deal has an asset value of $1.4 billion, including a proportionate share of project finance debt of about $0.3 billion.
Santos agreed in December to extend the exclusivity period for the sale until April 30, 2023.
However, Santos said in a statement on Monday that Kumul has now extended the period in which the offer will remain open until August 31, 2023.
Santos has agreed to deal exclusively with Kumul during this period regarding the sale of equity in PNG LNG, it said.
“Kumul has agreed it will work closely with Santos during this extension period in order to assist it in arranging the finalization of its acquisition financing with third parties,” Santos said.
There is also “strong support” from both the government and the joint venture partners for the transaction proceeding, it said.
Santos currently has a 42.5 percent stake in the 6.9 mtpa LNG export plant in Caution Bay following the Oil Search merger, while Kumul has a 16.8 percent stake.
ExxonMobil holds a 33.2 percent operating interest in PNG LNG.