International Petroleum Corporation and Chevron to Combine Respective Work Programs for Development of Pipeline from Papua New Guinea to Queensland

Business Wire, Oct 8, 1996

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 8, 1996-- International Petrol (TSE: IRP., NASDAQ:IRPPF.) INTERNATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION ("IPC"), as operator of the Pandora Gas Field and developer of the Pandora/Queensland Gas Pipeline Project is pleased to announce on behalf of the PPL 82 Joint Venture that IPC and Chevron, developer of the Kutubu/Queensland Gas Pipeline Project have agreed to combine their respective efforts into one major gas pipeline project for the delivery of both onshore and offshore gas from Papua New Guinea to Queensland.

The PPL 82 Joint Venture will contribute the extensive work completed to date developing the Pandora/Queensland pipeline while Chevron will contribute its work on the Kutubu/Queensland pipeline and take over as project developer.

The PPL 82 Joint Venture consists of the following partners - IPC (48.189 percent), Ampolex (16.3636 percent), Command (12.7273 percent), Claremont (6.3636 percent), Pacarc (6.3636 percent), Secab (5.0 percent), OSL (5.0 percent).

The arrangement will ensure that the broadest possible base of Papua New Guinea gas will be accessible to the pipeline system, including both the Pandora and other potential offshore gas as well as the gas resources of the Papua New Guinea highlands. It will ensure that the system is engineered from the outset to provide capacity and interconnectibility with those sources of gas which have been identified and to provide expansion capability to serve market growth and new sources of supply. Principles of open access will be applied to all gas transportation through the system.

The agreement enhances prospects for successfully overcoming the challenges associated with such a major undertaking by combining the strengths of IPC and Chevron. The PPL 82 Joint Venture will contribute the results of its considerable efforts in the Environmental, Government and Indigenous affairs arenas to the single new project. Pipeline routing for the Cape York to Townsville section of the expanded project will be based on the extensive work completed by IPC to date. Pipeline routing from the highlands to the Gulf of Papua will be based on the existing oil pipeline installed and operated by Chevron. From southern Papua New Guinea landfall to Cape York it will be based on work conducted by both IPC and Chevron in developing, respectively, the Pandora and the Kutubu pipeline concepts. Please see attached map.

Chevron brings its extensive technical and financial strength and its experience operating within Papua New Guinea (a Chevron affiliate operates the Kutubu field in the Papua New Guinea highlands) to the project. Chevron will also be able to draw on its experience building and operating large pipelines for oil and natural gas in challenging and sensitive areas such as Papua New Guinea, offshore U.S.A., the North Sea, Indonesia, etc.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "Ian H. Lundin" President

There is a map available by contacting the company at the number below. -0-

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CONTACT: International Petroleum Corporation

Ian H. Lundin, 604/689-7842, 604/689-4250 (FAX)