I don't follow the PNG project specifics very well because,...

I don't follow the PNG project specifics very well because, let's face it, waiting for the PNG project to get off the ground is like waiting for Godot. So this theory may be way out of whack but I'll throw it out there for consideration.

My recollection is that HZN want to strip the condensate out of the Stanley field as a low cost (low capital intensive) way of starting up production and kick-starting the development of the PNG assets. To my ill informed mind, this seems analogous to skimming the cream off the milk. Does the PNG government fear that Horizon may strip out the value of Stanley potentially damaging the economics of the longer term LNG gas extraction and potentially leaving the Stanley field stranded from the Western LNG project? I'm just trying to speculate what the underlying issues are based on my poor knowledge of the project. Frankly I'm a bit confused by it all. I don't even remember what we are giving Osaka Gas for the money we are supposedly going to get from them.

It appears that the PNG government is very keen that the stranded Western Provence LNG fields be aggregated into a shared pipeline to feed the proposed Western Provence LNG plant. Obviously that pipeline is going to be a major development project in and of itself that is going to require significant investment. Additionally, we don't necessarily know what, if anything, has gone on between Minister Pok or anyone else in the PNG government and our new partner Balang International or other entities. I don't know why but I've got a bad feeling about Balang buying up Repsol's share right when Pok is supposedly attempting to cancel one of the key licenses of the project.

It may be that Pok's license cancellation notice is designed to get Horizon and others to sign onto a plan for the development of the fields that differs from how it Horizon wants to proceed with Stanley.

This is all ill informed speculation. I would be interested to hear others thoughts.