* PNG LNG to take about 8 weeks to restore production -Exxon
* Project uncertainty has drained liquidity from spotmarkets
* Quake has killed at least 31 people (Adds ExxonMobil PNG quotes, project details)
SYDNEY, March 5 (Reuters) - ExxonMobil Corp XOM.N said onMonday it would take about eight weeks to restore production atthe Papua New Guinea liquified natural gas project (LNG),following a powerful earthquake that hit the country'senergy-rich interior a week ago.
The 7.5 magnitude quake on Feb. 26 triggered landslides andflattened buildings, killing at least 31 people, and hasaffected the regional LNG market. The South Pacific nation hasdeclared a state of emergency. said in a statement on Monday that 300 non-essentialpersonnel had been evacutated and work at the Hides gasconditioning plant in the highlands had turned to restoring campand associated facilities.
"While the gas conditioning plant was safely shut in, therehas been some damage to various pieces of equipment andfoundation supports that will need to be inspected andrepaired," it said.
"Initial visual inspections of the major processingequipment indicate that they may not have been significantlyimpacted," it added.
Exxon (NYSE:XOM) is the operator and largest shareholder of the projectthat includes a 700-km (435-mile) gas pipeline that connects gasreserves in PNG's jungle Southern Highlands to a coastalliquefaction plant. Oil Search Ltd OSH.AX and Santos STO.AX are also project partners.
Oil Search said the Agogo production facility and the Moranfield were the most affected by the quake, and major repairswill be required before production can restart. The timeframe torestart production through Agogo is still being reviewed.
Uncertainty around production from PNG has drained liquidityfrom Asia's spot LNG markets with buyers and sellers taking await-and-see approach before committing to trade, a marketsource said. PNG LNG project is considered one of the world'sbest-performing LNG operations. Exxon said earlier this monththat together with its partners, France's Total SA TOTF.PA andAustralia's Oil Search, it plans to almost double the facility'sexport capacity to 16 million tonnes per year.