The signing of a capacity development project to improve resource revenue recording is timely given expansions in the extractive industries.
Acting Secretary of the Department of Petroleum and Energy, Kepsy Puiye, said this during the signing ‘Improving Resource Related Revenue Management Project,’ between the PNG Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (PNG EITI and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Puiye said the project was timely give the expansions of resource projects in the country. He cited mining and petroleum as the expansion sectors.
“A good example is the PNG LNG Project. After we successfully commissioned the PNG LNG Project in 2014, there were strong indications that these projects were expanding.
“Last December, ExxonMobil and Oil Search discovered the Muruk Gas Field. Now we have P’nyang sitting not too far from the major gas fields which are contributing to the PNG LNG Project. we still have Angore (and) we sill have Juha. These are very important gas fields which will contribute to he success of the PNG LNG Project,” said Puiye.
He added “When you look at these projects the first thing that comes to mind is revenue. So JICA let me thank you and the government of Japan as well as other key stakeholders, which are assisting the PNG Government, improve PNG’s performance as a country that promotes transparency.”
Puiye said improving the reporting on the actual amount of revenue that is generated will translate to tangible developments on the ground.
He said the project will also improve PNG’s position in terms of global transparency rankings as well as make the country more investor attractive.
Under the project JICA will provide to the EITI technical assistance through the provision of experts and facilitate targeted training for PNG Government counterparts to learn from other EITI candidate countries.
Capacity building will undertaken in government agencies such as the Department of Petroleum and Energy (DPE), the Finance Department, Internal Revenue Commission (IRC), Mineral Resources Authority (MRA), and the Department of National Planning & Monitoring (DNPM).
The PNG EITI is a PNG Government initiative established in 2013 to promote accountability and transparency of revenue received from the country’s mining and oil and gas sector.
The body implements global EITI standards through its multi stakeholder group comprising of Government representative, industry partners and civil society groups.