Papua New Guinea risks LNG ambitions

The county’s negotiating tactics are damaging its reputation among developers

Papua New Guinea’s clumsy attempts to secure greater returns from LNG projects continue to discourage investors, particularly as the country was already seen as challenging given its difficult terrain, limited infrastructure, frequent civil unrest, high level of corruption and potential for earthquakes. At least one major development—the Total-operated 5.33mn t/yr Papua LNG scheme—remains on track in the resource-rich island nation, while a smaller scheme—Pasca A—has become the latest project thrown into doubt by government negotiation tactics.   The Papua LNG partners—comprising France’s Total (40.1pc), ExxonMobil-subsidiary InterOil (36.5pc) and ASX-listed Oil Search (22.8pc)—signed a fis