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   By Robb M. Stewart 
 

MELBOURNE, Australia--Exxon Mobil Corp.'s (XOM) big gas-export plant in Papua New Guinea has restarted production and is expected to resume shipments soon, recovering from the massive quake that struck the country in late February.

Oil Search Ltd. (OSH.AU) and Santos Ltd. (STO.AU), two Sydney-listed partners in the PNG LNG operation, said output of liquefied natural gas had resumed at one of two production lines that were shut after the Feb. 26 quake in the country's Highlands region. The restart has been sooner than the eight-week time frame Exxon previously outlined.

The second production line is expected to restart as natural-gas production from fields in Papua New Guinea resumes, the companies said in statements Friday.

Oil Search operates all of Papua New Guinea's producing oil fields, though these are dwarfed by output from Exxon's US$19 billion PNG LNG operation, in which Oil Search has a 29% interest and Santos a 13.5% stake. Output at the plant near the capital Port Moresby, gas-processing facilities and Oil Search's sites in the Highlands were all shut after the quake, which was followed by a series of aftershocks.

The magnitude-7.5 quake caused landslides that damaged roads and other infrastructure. Local police reported that at least 125 people were killed and Papua New Guinea's government in March declared a state of emergency in the Hela, Southern Highlands, Western and Enga provinces.

Oil Search said relief efforts in collaboration with the government, and with support from Australia and New Zealand, was ongoing.

It added that during the time the PNG LNG operations were shut down, some maintenance work scheduled for April and October was completed and planned modifications to the Hides gas-conditioning plant were brought forward.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 12, 2018 21:05 ET (01:05 GMT)