Aviation Logistics: ExxonMobil's PNG Air Bridge
As the oil and gas industry explores for hydrocarbon deposits in increasingly-remote regions of the world, it has to seek new ways to develop stranded reserves.
Offshore, large deposits – such as the 3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas discovered offshore Western Australia in the Prelude and Concerto fields – require the development of new-concept floating and subsea facilities if they are to be successfully extracted and exported to market. Onshore, the logistical problems of getting drilling and export facilities built in remote places can be solved with technologies and transport solutions that already exist.
One such example is the work that Russian air freight operator Volga-Dnepr Group has been undertaking in Papua New Guinea (PNG) since 2008.
ExxonMobil PNG Limited enlisted the help of Volga-Dnepr after the discovery of large resources of natural gas in the Hela, Southern Highlands and Western Provinces regions of PNG.
For its PNG LNG Project – which is estimated to deliver 9 trillion cubic feet of gas over a 30-year period – ExxonMobil needed to build a gas conditioning plant in the Highlands of PNG. But the area's rugged mountainous terrain and 350 inches of rainfall a year was going to make the task extremely difficult using conventional means.
Logistically, the main problem was how to deliver equipment and material from the ports of Lae and Port Moresby to the gas conditioning plant in Hides, which is located almost a mile above sea level. The roads in the area are mainly dirt tracks with steep gradients and there are plenty of bridges too, which meant that the maximum cargo weight per vehicle was restricted to 25 tons. Another issue was that the road between the port of Lae and Hides is often subject to road closures due to landslides and other problems.
An Airport in the Mountains
While thousands of loads have made it to the site via this route, Exxon decided to look at an “air bridge” option so that it could transport very heavy and delicate equipment that simply could not come to the site via the road. This was the point that Volga-Dnepr's help was enlisted to examine whether equipment could be brought in by air on one of its Antonov 124 transport aircraft.
123
View Full Article
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.
- ITEM Club: More Jobs Losses Expected in NE Scotland due to Oil Slump
- Shell Q&A: What Makes an Ideal Employer in Oil, Gas?
- Shell Takes First Place in Rigzone's Inaugural Ideal Employer Survey
- UK Government 'Must Recommit' to Oil, Gas Sector in Autumn Statement
- UK Government Gives Go-Ahead for Fracking in NW England
- Falcon Oil Declares Commercial Flow Test Results for Shenandoah Well
- Japan Failing to Meet Corporate Demand for Clean Power: Amazon
- Macquarie Strategists Expect Brent Oil Price to Grind Higher
- UK Oil Regulator Publishes New Emissions Reduction Plan
- PetroChina Posts Higher Annual Profit on Higher Production
- Pennsylvania County Joins List of Local Govts Suing Big Oil over Climate
- McDermott Settles Reficar Dispute
- US, SKorea Launch Task Force to Stop Illicit Refined Oil Flows into NKorea
- Russian Navy Enters Warship-Crowded Red Sea Amid Houthi Attacks
- USA Commercial Crude Oil Inventories Increase
- New China Climate Chief Says Fossil Fuels Must Keep a Role
- Equinor Makes Discovery in North Sea
- Standard Chartered Reiterates $94 Brent Call
- India Halts Russia Oil Supplies From Sanctioned Tanker Giant
- DOI Announces Proposal for Second GOM Offshore Wind Auction
- Centcom, Dryad Outline Recent Moves Around Red Sea Region
- PetroChina Set to Receive Venezuelan Oil
- Czech Conglomerate to Buy Major Stake in Gasnet for $917MM
- US DOE Offers $44MM in Funding to Boost Clean Power Distribution
- Oil Settles Lower as Stronger Dollar Offsets Tighter Market
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Major Oilfield Discovery
- VIDEO: Missile Attack Kills Crew Transiting Gulf of Aden
- Norway Regulator Blasts Proposal to Halt New Oil and Gas Permits
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Another Major Oilfield Discovery
- New China Climate Chief Says Fossil Fuels Must Keep a Role
- What Is the Biggest Risk to Offshore Oil and Gas Personnel in 2024?
- Vessel Sinks in Red Sea After Missile Strike
- Exxon Rights in Stabroek Do Not Apply to Hess Merger with Chevron: Hess
- Analysts Reveal Latest Oil Price Outlook Following OPEC+ Cut Extension
- Equinor Makes Discovery in North Sea