SINGAPORE – Exxon Mobil is doubling down on Papua New Guinea, topping a rival offer for InterOil, a gas explorer focused on the Southeast Asian nation.

The energy giant’s offer values InterOil at $2.5-billion, including debt, beating an earlier bid from Oil Search and Total SA. Exxon already runs Papua New Guinea’s onlyliquefied natural gas terminal and buying InterOil, which hasgas fields and a stake in a second gas export project in the country, would give it a new source of the fuel for its exports.Oil Search and Total have three days to decide whether to counter Exxon’s offer.

http://www.miningweekly.com/article/exxons-25bn-bid-for-pngs-interoil-tops-oil-search-2016-07-18

LAUNCESTON, Australia, July 19 (Reuters) - ExxonMobil Corp's bid to buy a junior natural gas explorer in a remote Pacific country shows that rare corporate ability of planning a deal at the bottom of the commodity cycle that holds the promise of long-term returns.

ExxonMobil has offered at least $2.2 billion for InterOil Corp in order to obtain the smaller company's natural gas assets in Papua New Guinea.

In doing so, the world's biggest listed oil company has trumped an offer from Australia's Oil Search, which was backed by French major Total.

http://www.downstreamtoday.com/news/article.aspx?a_id=52833

MELBOURNE, July 20 (Reuters) - Total SA is unlikely to challenge ExxonMobil in a bidding war for explorer InterOil Corp, the French firm's partner in a gas field in Papua New Guinea, analysts said on Wednesday.

http://www.downstreamtoday.com/news/article.aspx?a_id=52854