Oil firm put on notice

THE Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC)has given ExxonMobil until Nov 3 to submit documents relating to its acquisition of lnterOil’s interests in the Papua LNG project in Gulf.
ICCC commissioner and chief executive officer Paulus Ain said the statutory notice was issued under Section 128 of the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission Act 2002.
The notice requires an individual or company to provide specific information or documents requested by the ICCC.
It is exercised when an individual and or a company has refused to voluntarily provide information requested by the ICCC.
It relates to the recent acquisition by ExxonMobil of InterOil shares in the Gulf project recently approved by shareholders of both companies and the Supreme Court in Yukon, Canada.
A spokesperson for ExxonMobil confirmed yesterday that they had received the notice. “We acknowledge receipt of the letter from the ICCC and are currently reviewing it,” the spokesperson said.
“ExxonMobil has a positive history and a strong business in PNG, and remains interested in growing that business.”
Ain said a refusal to comply with the notice, or knowingly submitting misleading and incorrect information requested by it, was an offence under the ICCC Act.
The penalty includes a fine of K100,000 or a jail term of two years.
He said the ICCC had made numerous requests to ExxonMobil to submit the relevant application.
“The ICCC advised that the type of information and documents requested in the statutory notice issued to ExxonMobil includes documents such as the contract of sale, share sale and purchase agreement, and joint venture agreements concerning ExxonMobil’s acquisition of InterOil’s interests in the Papua LNG project,” Ain said.