Liquid Niugini Gas CEO Dr Jack Hamilton told PNN's sister publication PNGIndustryNews.net yesterday drilling progress at Elk-4 was around 30m a day and further details of the discovery are likely to be announced within days.

Hamilton said a series of meetings were held with the PNG Government on the back of the recent Australia-PNG Business Council Forum in Cairns, with positive discussions held over the company's liquefied natural gas project.

Hamilton acknowledged the PNG Government may be awaiting the full results of Elk-4 and said the negotiation process could come to a resolution over the next few weeks.

InterOil announced its gas and gas liquids discovery at the start of the month, with an intersection made at the Antelope structure at 2256m of its total planned depth of 2450m.

Liquid Niugini aims to build an LNG plant next to InterOil's refinery in Port Moresby and is backed by InterOil, Merrill Lynch and Clarion Finanz AG affiliate Pacific LNG operations.

Should Liquid Niugini obtain government approval, production is expected to start in 2012 using gas sourced from the Elk-Antelope structure.