Horizon Oil has announced that it is selling its assets to its co-venturer Arran Energy and pulling out of Papua New Guinea. The prospect of a weak oil price may be to blame, according to one analyst.
Mining & Energy
Mayur Resources has just released its annual report, providing an update on its diverse portfolio of mining and energy projects in Papua New Guinea, including the Central Cement and Limestone project.
The contribution of the resources sector to the Papua New Guinea is being greatly under-estimated according to Maygen Turliu, Director of Tax & Business Services for Deloitte PNG. What appears in Treasury’s Budget is less than a third of its actual contribution.
In a surprise development, the Porgera gold mine looks set to re-open, ending a period of intense disagreement between Papua New Guinea’s government and Barrick Niugini, the mine’s operator.
The Papua New Guinea government hopes that its ‘in-principle’ agreement with Twinza Oil over the Pasca A offshore oil field in the Gulf of Papua will be a template for new oil and gas projects. But the project isn’t across the line just yet.
The Marape government’s proposed introduction of a new Organic Law for mining, and oil and gas projects will do away with Papua New Guinea’s ‘robust’ legal regime, according to Vaughan Mills, Head of PNG Practice for Corrs, Chambers Westgarth.
The Papua New Guinea government’s proposal to move to production sharing agreements in resource projects may not solve the government’s financial problems and there is a risk it will harm the country’s reputation for being a good place to invest, according to the industry itself.
Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister, James Marape, has insisted that the country’s proposed LNG projects, Papua LNG and P’nyang, will be dealt with as separate projects.
Papua New Guinea’s government has moved to effectively take over the Porgera gold mine in Enga Province by issuing a Special Mining Lease to state-owned mining company, Kumul Minerals Holdings. Legal challenges look likely.
A new organic law defining how Papua New Guinea manages resource projects may soon be tabled in Parliament. It appears the main aim will be to change ownership and control of future projects, but will it spook international investors?