PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The joint venture (JV) partners in the Papua New Guinea (PNG) liquefied natural gas (LNG) project have inked a gas agreement with the Independent State of PNG defining the fiscal framework for the project.
Project partner Oil Search MD Peter Botton told shareholders on Tuesday that the fiscal and other terms of the gas agreement equitably allocated project benefits and returns to the State, the project participants and other stakeholders.
The gas agreement includes a domestic market obligation providing gas for domestic use, as well as a deferred payment mechanism for the State’s payment of past costs, easing the financial burden associated with the State’s acquisition of its equity interest in the PNG LNG project.
The agreement also included a framework to support local workforce development, the involvement of local businesses and socioeconomic development of the communities impacted by the PNG LNG project.
“The signing of this important agreement will allow all PNG LNG project parties to proceed with confidence into front-end engineering and design related activities, commencing with contractor selection and engineering contracting,” said Botton.
Furthermore, the JV partners have also reached alignment on a suite of agreements that will support the PNG LNG project taking the next steps towards development, including those related to the project site and facility access.