Heavy quake hits Papua New Guinea
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all of exxonmobil png limiteds employees and contractors at its hides facilities have been accounted for and we are pleased to report they are all safe exxonmobils png spokeswoman said in an email1 a 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck papua new guineas southern-highlands-province early on monday disrupting communications and oil and gas operations1 there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties although pngs disaster management authourity did not respond to a request for comment1 the pacific tsunami warning center in hawaii said there was no risk of a tsunami in the aftermath of the quake1 exxonmobil corp said it had shut its hides gas conditioning plant close to the quakes epicentre to assess if there was any damage1 according to the u.s. geological survey usgs the tremor hit near the centre of papua new guineas main island around 560 km 350 miles from the capital port moresby at around 3.45 a.m. local time 1545 gmt sunday according to the usgs. it was about 35 km 22 miles deep1 gas is processed at hides and transported along a 700 km 435 miles line that feeds a liquefied natural gas plant near port moresby for shipping1 png oil and gas explorer oil search said in a statement it had shut production in the quake-affected area and there had been several aftershocks with magnitudes greater than five1 it said there were no reports of injuries1 several aid agencies said poor communications in the densely forested area made damage and injury assessment difficult1 earthquakes are common in papua new guinea which sits on the pacifics ring of fire a hotspot for seismic activity due to friction between tectonic plates.reutersnan1