Former Prime Minister and Member for Ialibu-Pangia, Peter O’Neill, has urged the Marape Government to hold a firm line in its negotiations with TotalEnergies and ExxonMobil, calling for an immediate end to the rumored US$3 billion (PGK12 billion) in new concessions.
“The time for going cap-in-hand to multinational corporations is over,” Mr. O’Neill stated. “Reports of the government offering billions in additional concessions to keep the Papua LNG project on life support are deeply concerning. We cannot afford to negotiate to their advantage at a cost of US$3 billion to our own people.”
Mr O’Neill highlighted that the current geopolitical climate gives Papua New Guinea a position of strength, not weakness:
PNG Should use its Strategic Advantage in Negotiations Amid Conflict:
“TotalEnergies and ExxonMobil are heavily exposed to Middle East conflicts that have stalled projects in Qatar, Iraq and offshore UAE. “TotalEnergies has already seen 15% wiped off its production and a 10% reduction in upstream cashflows. Instead of ceding more ground, PNG should be leveraging its status as a stable, non-conflict zone to demand better terms not giving away more concessions we can ill afford.”
The Original “Good Deal”:
“In 2019, a binding agreement was signed that was commercially viable and fair to the State. By trying to “Take Back PNG,” the Marape administration instead caused a seven-year delay with estimates now pointing to a total project cost of US$18 billion up from US$12 billion in 2019. The delay alone has cost PNG billions in earnings replaced by expensive loans of now over K60 billion.”
Marape must not rewrite history to suit his political agenda.
“The 2019 Papua LNG agreement hammered out included 22.5% equity to the people of PNG; a generous reservation of gas for domestic power and a project that would double PNG’s LNG export capacity by adding 5.6 million tonnes per annum.”
“The Papua LNG project would have boosted the PNG economy by K35 billion with the construction phase as early as 2021-2022, with production and major revenue following in 2024-2025. Marape Government induced delays means this economic harvest has been pushed back by a decade.”