New Guinea Adventure

 

 

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In 1989, Phillips Petroleum was investigating a project,
To develop inner coast gas well discoveries very quick,
Including an LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) Plant on the coast.
I was selected to lead a team of Engineers as the host.

 

 

 

 

 

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To find a plant location along New Guinea coast line,
To locate a plant to process and ship the gas as LNG so fine.
With a list of criteria we developed before heading out,
This would be an interesting trip, there was no doubt.

 

 

We searched inner coast line from Port Moresby to Oriomo for an LNG Plant site.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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New Guinea Adventure

 

 

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We flew first class on an American Air Lines DC-10,
To Sydney, Australia on the first day our trip to begin.
We spend a full day in Sydney taking in the sights,
Taking a few pictures on that visit that was a delight.

Men, it’s going to be a long plane ride today.

 

 

 

A shot I took looking across the bay towards the Sydney city center.

 

 

 

An old wooden sailing ship we toured moored near the city center.

 

 

 

The Sydney Opera from across the bay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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We then flew on Quantas Airlines to Papua, New Guinea,
With a short stop at Melbourne, Australia, so wild and free.
Before heading north again to that third world country,
To begin work to find a plant site in the jungle trees.

Headed out on the last leg of our journey going to Papua New Guinea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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We went to the hotel and checked in there to begin,
Carved native art with sexual hints filled the hotel therein.
Then we met to review work plans, and later saw the sights,
Around Port Moresby before returning for the night.

Native carved wooden art work in the hotel, perhaps a little risqué.

 

 

 

Art work on the Parliment building at Port Moresby.

 

 

 

The World War II soldiers cemetery at Port Moresby.

 

 

 

A local Port Moresby funeral procession we saw by chance on the road.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I leased a twin engine plane for our first pass of the coast,
So we flew around the coast and selected areas with the most,
To offer for a potential LNG plant site to meet our needs,
And documented the sites for a closer look as I did lead.

A shot of the Parliment building out the window of the plane.

 

 

 

One of many shots of the inner coast out the window on the plane.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I leased an Islands Helicopter the next day for a closer look,
As we flew close to the ground on the route we took.
We decided to set down in the jungle to look at one sight,
Where we had a native experience giving us a fright.

Some shots I took of coconut groves and villages along the coast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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We sat down and the chopper left to refuel at that time,
Leaving us kind of vulnerable standing there in a line,
Natives then came out of the jungle with long knives,
Kind of making some of us worry and fear for our lives.

The helicopter we were in when we sat down in the jungle that day in 1989.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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But they were very friendly and soon did disappear,
And were replaced by a group of kids we did not fear,
Who were nearly naked as they followed us all around.
We did our thing and left to complete the trip rounds.

The nearly naked kids that came out after the scary men left. Some of the kids had dangling participles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next morning, we evaluated the data we did take,
And an LNG plant site selection we surely then did make.
The contractor completed the one billion dollar project proposal,
For the plant and infrastructure to process gas at our disposal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The last day we were there, we went out deep sea fishing,
With one of the local E&P guys as we were a wishing,
To catch some big fish out in that big ocean nearby,
But the fish just weren’t biting when we gave them a try.

It was a fun boating trip drinking South Pacific beer, but no fish did we catch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The study meshed with projects for drilling and gathering gas,
Which turned out to be fairly a substantial sum at last,
And the economics would not support a project over there,
So the project faded away on into the jungle somewhere.

 

 

 

 

 

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We never installed that project over there in New Guinea,
But it was a very interesting travel experience for me,
And those guys that traveled over there who got to see,
That place that most people will never see in its entirety.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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By Bill

 

 

 

 

 

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Thanks for reading New Guinea Adventure,
Bill