Aust, Santos deal includes scholarship for workers

The Australian government entered a new partnership recently with Santos Ltd to build the technical and management capability in the country’s natural resource sector.
The partnership includes a new scholarship to be awarded to a Papua New Guinean working in the resources sector, to commence post-graduate studies in Australia next year.
High Commissioner Bruce Davis said the award was a great example of the public and private sectors collaborating to support national growth.
“This kind of partnership between the government, the private sector, and education institutions shows public-private sector cooperation can support stronger national industries to bring about development and economic growth, and share the benefits of this growth more widely,” he said.
Santos managing-director and chief executive Kevin Gallagher said they were pleased to partner with the Australian government in investing in the people of Papua New Guinea to build added capability in its oil and gas sector.
“Santos is passionate about investing in the communities where it operates and there is no better way to do that than through education,” he said.
“Having a highly-skilled local workforce is great for Santos, but just as importantly, it will build a better future for families and communities throughout Papua New Guinea and contribute to the economic and social development of Australia’s nearest neighbour and friend.”
The resource sector is an important industry in PNG, making significant contributions to national growth and economic development.
Santos, an Australian company with a long history of working in PNG, has a 13.5 per cent interest in the PNG LNG project.
Nearly 2600 employees and contractors are engaged in PNG LNG production operations, with about 82 per cent Papua New Guinean and 22 per cent women.