Under the current arrangement, gas for the liquefied natural gas project will be sourced from Oil Search's Hides, Angore and Juha fields as well as from its operating Kutubu, Agogo, Gobe and Moran oilfields in the Southern Highlands and Western Provinces.

Oil Search has said the gas supply from the various fields will have PNG LNG accounting for around half of Papua New Guinea's discovered gas resources, with Hides holding one-third of the country's known reserves.

However, this is not the full story on potential gas supply for the project.

Oil Search investor relations manager Ann Diamant said the company is looking at options to provide additional gas to the project.

"Only around 60 percent of our discovered gas resource is currently dedicated to the PNG LNG project," she said. "We have some 2 trillion cubic feet which is yet to be commercialised."

"Following our recent strategic review we have formed a new group whose specific task is to explore gas commercialisation opportunities for our remaining discovered resource."

The discovery of more gas in PNG could boost the nation's total known resources to more than the current 15 trillion cubic feet.

As part of its PNG exploration effort, Oil Search has started construction of a new well at Wasuma in PPL219, east of the company's South East Gobe field in the country's interior.

The PNG LNG project ownership consists of ExxonMobil at 41.6%, Oil Search 34.1%, Santos 17.7%, AGL Energy 3.6% and Nippon Oil 1.8%.

Landowner interests hold the remaining 1.2%.

Oil Search expects sales to go to Asian markets in late 2013 or early 2014.