Papua New Guinea’s growth as an attractive industrial proposition has reached new levels over the past decade, its previously uninviting landscape now being outweighed by the resources that lie beneath. Epitomising the evolution in March, the 2nd Papua New Guinea Petroleum & Energy Summit took place at the Stanley Hotel in Port Moresby; attended by the man tasked with overseeing this ongoing development and appeal to the rest of the world – Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Peter O’Neill.
He was joined by key ministry representatives to discuss continued project expansion in the energy infrastructure and oil & gas domain; focusing especially on exploration.
“The outlook for PNG’s energy sector is positive, with attractive investment opportunities arising in the oil, gas and power markets,” a spokesperson for the event said. “As PNG develops its National Gas Commercialisation Strategy, the PNG Government considers how it can advance its financial infrastructure to gain intrnational investment and provide third party access regimes.”
Set against this transitioning energy landscape, the 2nd Papua New Guinea Petroleum & Energy Summit 2018 took place from 19-21 March, 2018, held under the patronage of the Prime Minister and endorsed by the Minister of Petroleum, Hon. Dr Fabian Pok Mec Ph.D and Hon. Sam Basil, Minister of Communications, Information Technology & Energy.
The Summit brought together senior government officials from the Ministry of Petroleum and the Ministry of Communication, Technology & Energy, and all the major industry players working in PNG, to discuss current energy projects and the future strategies for expansion.
Key issues addressed included the current opportunities and projects in PNG’s petroleum and energy industry: the current energy outlook and plans for PNG’s petroleum and energy regulator; the power sector’s progress in regards to reliability, affordability and access; the key operators and the exciting new projects within their portfolios; and new upstream exploration activities that are either planned or underway in the country.
The Prime Minister was joined by representatives from international industry heavyweights including Kumul Petroleum Holdings, ExxonMobil, Oil Search, Total E&P and JERA – among others – as they built relationships, expanded business networks and identified sector opportunities.
“The Summit was opened by the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Rt. Hon. Peter O’Neill CMG and featured keynote speeches from Deputy Prime Minister, Hon. Charles Abel; Minister of Petroleum, Hon. Dr. Fabian Pok; and Minister for Communications, Information Technology and Energy, Hon. Sam Basil,” the event reviewed. “ExxonMobil detailed the current status of operations at the PNG LNG project, in the aftermath of the recent earthquake, and remain confident of bringing the project back online within the eight-week timeframe given, a testament to the world-class facilities being operated in PNG.”
Total went on to provide the latest details relating to the status of the PNG LNG project; outlining an overall confidence in FID for 2019.
The event surmised: “There was a prominent focus on power and particularly an in-country electrification programme and projects that are being put in place to deliver this sustainably.
“The Summit concluded with a keynote closing panel featuring Ministers, Hon. Dr.Pok, Hon. Sam Basil, Wapu Sonk (KPHL) and Carolyn Blacklock (PNG Power) who summarised proceedings and gave a positive outlook for continued, progressive development of the country’s petroleum and power sectors
