TotalEnergies Vice President for Asia Pacific, Julien Pouget emphasized the importance of ensuring partnerships in the country.
He said it was an eye-opener upon his arrival in the country as he spoke very highly of the peoples’ hospitality and friendliness.
“I discovered the many welcoming people and also the site which is so beautiful,” he said.
However, due to the remoteness of Purari and its communities, Mr Pouget described the logistics aspect of the operation to be very challenging, given there are no roads within the project area, which can only be accessed by air and river.
“I am honoured to be here and to be part of this project and I’m sure that together, we can keep our ongoing success with our partners for Papua New Guinea and its people,” he said.
Mr Pouget acknowledged Minister for Petroleum, Kerenga Kua and Kumul Petroleum Holdings Managing Director, Wapo Sonk for the discussions in Paris including the invitation to visit Papua New Guinea.
“I took your advice immediately and I arrived in Singapore last Thursday before travelling to Papua New Guinea on Tuesday,” he said.
Mr Pouget described the Papua LNG as the most important project given TotalEnergies’ projects in countries located within the Asia Pacific region.
He said when responding to Minister Kua that TotalEnergies was on track in adhering to its commitment on biodiversity and environmental management.
“We have to stick to what we say and what we’re doing with our partners on the project here, which is to ensure the governance and sustainability to the project is achieved,” he said.
He described TotalEnergies’ vision on biodiversity and sustainability was pivotal over the entire life of the project.
“We also had the opportunity to sign a MoU with the Ministry for Forestry in order to develop the foundation of replanting trees,” Mr Pouget said.
He said when more trees are being cut down, we must compensate the loss of tress through replanting to ensure that the impact of our project is mitigated and compensated.
Mr Pouget said he was honoured to be part of the Papua LNG with partners – Exxon and Santos.
“I am honoured to be part of this project and I’m sure that together, we can keep the success along with our partners and for Papua New Guinea and its people.”