The Papua LNG is on schedule for FEED (Front End Engineering Design) and will move into early preparatory works and Final Investment Decision late this year or early next year.
Prime Minister, James Marape and the senior government Ministerial team were briefed by Senior Executives of TotalEnergies at the FEED announcement on Monday night, 6th March.
The Total team was led by Julian Pouget, Senior Vice President for the Asia Pacific region who was present during the announcements.
“We were pleasantly informed that by next year construction of multi-billion Kina worth of infrastructures would start and run until first gas in 2027,” PM Marape said.
“And with our P’nyang gas agreement we will extend construction money into P’nyang development that will see our country having a much longer construction period then the PNGLNG period years,” said PM Marape.
It is anticipated that Papua LNG construction will start in 2024 and complete in 2027 with first gas and P’nyang LNG construction would continue into 2031 or 2032.
PM Marape asked the company to urgently work with Government in finalizing the local content plan, the local labor recruitment and training to do away with foreign workers coming in on jobs which Papua New Guineans can be trained to do.
He said that government’s technological colleges are on standby to mass train workers to participate in the LNG construction phase and operations as well.
PM Marape also directed for TotalEnergies Partnership with Kumul Petroleum and MRDC to produce local fuels using domestic market gas provisions and also asked for support for Kumul Petroleum to build a standalone train for other gas from stranded fields.
The Prime Minister also asked TotalEnergies for expansion in their green energy concepts especially to partner Government to offset carbon footprints and to have a LNG product that is carbon neutral.
All in all, PM Marape is very pleased that Total Energies appreciated all of government’s concerns and their support to government policies on local content, downstream processing, local labor hire, development forum with land owners and provinces and districts concern, infrastructure development and others.
The government has committed to stand with this project until first gas in 2027.