ExxonMobil Resumes LNG Production in Papua New Guinea After Earthquake

07:27 GMT, 13 April 2018

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) - US energy giant ExxonMobil resumed production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Papua New Guinea after a temporary suspension caused by February's devastating earthquake in the country, the company's press service said.

Sputnik

"ExxonMobil said today that production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) has safely resumed at the PNG LNG project in Papua New Guinea following a temporary shutdown of operations after a severe earthquake occurred in the region on Feb. 26. LNG exports are expected to resume soon," the press service said in a statement.

Papua New Guinea is located in a seismically active zone known as the Ring of Fire and regularly suffers from powerful earthquakes. In late February, a 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit Papua New Guinea, killing dozens. A number of aftershocks took place later. According to the World Food Programme (WFP), thousands of people have been affected by the tremor and over 270,000 people were in need of humanitarian assistance.

Exxon Mobil is the operator of the PNG LNG facility in Papua New Guinea through Exxon Mobil PNG Limited, which produced up to 7.9 million tonnes of LNG in 2016.