TotalEnergies and Petronas have commenced an offshore oil and gas exploration campaign in Papua New Guinea. The Noble Viking drillship is drilling Mailu-1, the country’s first ultra-deepwater exploration well. This well is located in Block PPL 576 within the Gulf of Papua.
The campaign represents a total investment of up to $200 million. Prime Minister James Marape described the project as a significant vote of confidence in the nation's resource potential.
A commercial discovery would establish a new deepwater frontier for TotalEnergies' future production pipeline. While originally planned for 2025, the project timeline shifted to 2026.