PETALING JAYA: MISC Bhd
, the shipping arm of Petroliam Nasional Bhd, marked its maiden entry into Papua New Guinea with a 15-year charter from ExxonMobil for a new floating, storage and offloading (FSO) unit.
In a statement yesterday, MISC announced it has secured bareboat charter and operations and maintenance contracts with ExxonMobil PNG Ltd, a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corp and the operator of the Papua New Guinea liquefied natural gas (LNG) project.
These contracts, which come with extension options of up to an additional 15 years, will provide MISC with substantial long-term revenue visibility, it said.
This directly supports MISC’s ‘Delivering Progress’ strategy under the Resilient Core pillar that focuses on securing sustainable, quality earnings and future-proofing the group’s portfolio.
“This FSO will be Papua New Guinea’s first offshore floating facility and will be deployed at the Kumul Marine Terminal as part of the Kutubu Pipeline System.
“It will play a critical role in the storage and offloading of liquid hydrocarbons, including crude oil and condensate, produced from various fields, while the associated gas is fed into the Papua New Guinea LNG project.”
The project is a LNG facility with a production capacity of more than 8.3 million tonnes per annum.
The Papua New Guinea LNG project is operated by ExxonMobil PNG, which holds a 33.2% participating interest, in partnership with Santos Limited (39.9%), ENEOS Xplora Inc. (4.7%), Kumul Petroleum Holdings Ltd (19.4%) and Mineral Resources Development Company Ltd (2.8%).
MISC president and group chief executive officer Zahid Osman said that securing Papua New Guinea’s first-ever FSO marks another chapter in MISC’s longstanding global partnership with ExxonMobil, a relationship built over many years across the shipping segments and now extending into the offshore segment.
“Following our strategic entry into Brunei with the Kelidang FPU project, this venture continues our momentum in pushing boundaries and entering new markets.
“It demonstrates our commitment to supporting our partners and host nations to responsibly monetise their resources for long-term development.
“This venture is more than a contract; it is about laying a foundation for the future.
“It also reflects our Delivering Progress strategy in action – entering new frontiers with a world-class partner to deliver sustainable infrastructure that will serve a nation for decades to come.
“We are privileged to play a pivotal role in supporting the Papua New Guinea LNG Project, reinforcing our position as a trusted global provider of sustainable maritime solutions.”
The FSO will feature a 30‑year operational lifespan and a minimum storage capacity of 800,000 barrels.
Scheduled for deployment in the first half of 2028, its specification includes capabilities to handle condensate for prospective future projects.
