While the fall in global oil prices has resulted in weaker revenues than expected, Oil Search have not reduced its social programmes in PNG.
As a PNG company, Oil Search believe they have an obligation to improve the lives of Papua New Guineans.
Chairman, Richard Lee speaking at the Annual General Meeting in Port Moresby last Friday said Oil Search is continuing to invest in infrastructure, including roads and hospitals, and domestic power opportunities, in partnership with government.
“Delivering these projects helps create a stable operating and investment environment, which is essential for our continued growth.”
He said the Oil Search Board has recently committed a grant of US$56.2 million, or K177 million, to the Oil Search Foundation over five years from 2016 to 2020.
“The grant will fund the Foundation’s core operational costs and signature programmes within the areas of Health, Leadership and Education, and Women’s Protection and Empowerment.
“With almost all of Oil Search’s assets and future growth located in PNG, helping to preserve a stable operating environment is critical to our value.
“This is why, despite oil price pressures, we have not, and will not, compromise on our commitment to social responsibility programmes,” he said.
Lee added that even if oil prices remain at current levels, they remain confident that they can still deliver superior returns to their shareholders, as they have in the past.
“With solid progress being made on PNG LNG capacity increases and on both the potential expansion of the PNG LNG Project and the development of the Elk/Antelope resource, Oil Search could be involved in the construction of two and potentially three additional, high returning LNG trains in PNG by 2018/2019.
“With the potential to nearly double our production by early in the next decade, this all adds up to a very exciting future.”