Liquid Niugini Gas, a partnership between three international companies, believes that its two-train LNG project will come into operation by 2012 and will therefore be the first such development in PNG.

The feasibility study work is being handled out of Worley-Parsons' Melbourne office, and Liquid Niugini Gas is looking to award the front-end engineering and design contract in August.

"We are already talking to contractors, including KBR and Chiyoda, and have asked them to submit train designs based on our gas specifications," a project official told Upstream.

However,