The Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has announced that Heads of Agreements will be signed for the Wafi-Golpu mine and Papua LNG project, to coincide with the APEC Leaders Week. In a pep to talk to business last week, he emphasised the benefits of hosting APEC 2018.
The Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill, speaking at Business Advantage Papua New Guinea Investment Conference in Brisbane, said the mid-year assessment of the economy was better than anticipated. He said the growing investment interest in the Pacific from China, Australia and the United States is ‘healthy’.
Papua New Guinea’s second LNG plant is expected to be ready by 2023-2024, according to Total Managing Director, Philippe Blanchard. He told Business Advantage PNG the company is also keeping its eyes open for other energy plants in PNG.
O’Neill says Supplementary Budget won’t contain any new taxes, Oil Search MD says oil and gas sector could earn K60 billion over the next seven years, and central bank prepares to use block chain technology. Your weekly digest of the latest business news.
Cross-industry collaboration and help from the Papua New Guinea government are required to get the most out of the gas in Western Province, David Lester, Chief Office Representative for Repsol PNG tells Business Advantage PNG.
Large scale gas projects suit multi-operators, says Gerea Aopi, President of the PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum. He tells Business Advantage PNG that this allows operators in Papua New Guinea to spread the fixed costs, which is one way that the industry is looking for productivity improvements.
Philippe Blanchard, Managing Director of Total E&P PNG – operator of the Papua LNG project – tells Business Advantage PNG that production for the project is expected to begin in 2022/2023. He says Total is using local labour and companies as much as possible.
ExxonMobil PNG may have trumped Oil Search’s bid for InterOil Corporation, but Papua New Guinea’s largest company will still benefit from the US major’s US$2.3 billion bid, according to Oil Search’s Managing Director Peter Botten. He tells Business Advantage PNG that the bid by ExxonMobil delivers most of the benefits of Oil Search’s take over offer and pushes the ‘cooperation agenda’.
Oil Search, Papua New Guinea’s biggest company and largest non-government employer, looks set to consolidate its position as a major player in the Asia Pacific oil and gas market with its $US2.2 billion purchase of InterOil. Chief Executive of Oil Search, Peter Botten, says it will allow the company to be ‘hugely influential in the further development of our world class PNG LNG and Papua LNG assets.’
France’s Total SA has confirmed its plans to commence construction for Papua LNG, the country’s next big liquefied natural gas project. Business Advantage PNG spoke with Philippe Blanchard, Managing Director of its PNG subsidiary, Total E&P PNG, to learn more about its race to start construction in 2018.