Pressure rises in PNG gas standoff
The P'nyang gas agreement is becoming a test case for the Marape government’s promise to stand up to resource extraction firms
Papua New Guinea (PNG) failed again in mid-January to agree fiscal terms with ExxonMobil for the development of its onshore P'nyang gas field, raising the stakes for all parties involved in a wider project to double gas exports. The failure of the state team negotiating in Singapore piles political pressure on the PNG government; Prime Minister James Marape rose to power last May on the back of pledges to reap more revenue from international resources firms and lift the vast South Pacific archipelago out of poverty. It also increases the financial strain on private stakeholders. The P'nyang gas agreement needs to be sealed before a complex pre-Feed process can start for a larger associated l

Also in this section
3 June 2025
China will play a huge role in driving gas demand, with its Qatar partnership crucial to this growth amid global structural challenges
3 June 2025
Datacentres to drive demand for gas and position the fuel as more than just a bridging solution
2 June 2025
It is time to acknowledge that the US-Saudi Arabia nexus is driving a fundamental shift in OPEC strategy
2 June 2025
More than anything else, weak Chinese gas demand is providing relief to EU consumers, but it is uncertain how long this relief will last