The first delivery of refined product was lifted by ship from the InterOil marine facility and will be delivered to the local PNG market.

“We are extremely excited about this milestone of the first product sales” said InterOil CEO Phil Mulacek. “The refinery has now proven that it can produce refined product on specification with this sale into the domestic market. This is a historic moment for InterOil and Papua New Guinea.”

The refinery has a name-plate capacity of 32,500 barrels per day and has been engineered to process "sweet" crude, low in sulphur, requiring few environmental costs in the refining process.

InterOil said production from the refinery will accommodate the country's domestic requirements while also providing export product to the surrounding region.

The majority of product from the refinery is secured by contracts with Shell Overseas Holdings Ltd. BP Singapore is the exclusive agent for all crude oil supplied to the refinery. In addition to the refinery and retail assets, InterOil has commenced an extensive exploration program in Papua New Guinea.

Revenue derived from refined product sales within InterOil’s Midstream business segment will now complement the operational revenues currently being generated from InterOil’s Downstream business segment that was acquired from BP PNG earlier this year.