ExxonMobil Predicts LNG Demand to Rise 400% by 2030

BANGKOK, MARCH 10, 2008 – ExxonMobil said today it expects global LNG capacity to grow 400% by 2030 to help meet the world’s growing appetite for natural gas.

In a keynote speech Monday at Gastech 2008, Andrew Swiger, president of ExxonMobil Power & Gas Marketing, said “Global LNG demand is expected to increase from about 100 million tons per annum in 2000 to more than 500 million tons per annum in 2030. That is a staggering five-fold increase, which will change the way LNG is traded, and for that matter, change the face of the gas industry as a whole.”

Swiger pointed out that meeting the demand challenge will require strong, sustaining partnerships between international oil companies, national oil companies and host nations. “Each entity brings its individual strengths and capabilities,” Swiger said, “and working together, we can maximize the value of resource projects to the benefit of all concerned.”

Citing Qatar as an example, Swiger said “Through partnerships with international oil companies – and backed by balanced fiscal policies, rule of law, sanctity of contracts and a reputation for being a reliable supplier – Qatar is now the world’s largest LNG exporter.”

Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil ventures are building four 7.8 million ton per year LNG trains in Qatar that are almost four times larger than trains built in the mid-1990s. The companies are also building a new generation of LNG tanker with a capacity nearly double that of conventional LNG carriers of today as well as regasification facilities in various markets.

“Advances in technology have made it possible to economically supply LNG from remote resources to growing demand centers,” said Swiger, “underpinning the strong growth in LNG demand.”

ExxonMobil is participating in the Gorgon and Scarborough LNG projects in Australia and is leading the development and commercialization of multiple fields in the Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG) and a 6.3 million-ton-per-year LNG facility on the Gulf of Papua.

“The PNG LNG Project has completed its pre-FEED study and is now poised to enter FEED,” said Swiger, “As the Operator of the Project and the sellers’ representative, ExxonMobil is excited about starting the marketing of this

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Editor Note: FEED is Front End Engineering and Design.

Contact: Patrick McGinn (U.S.): Tel 713-656-4376