Develop facilities, ExxonMobil told

By GYNNIE KERO
PETROLEUM Minister Jimmy Maladina has urged ExxonMobil to develop facilities for the importation of Jet A-1 fuel to support the country’s energy need.
During the commissioning of a new 3.5 million litre motor fuel storage tank outside Port Moresby yesterday, he praised ExxonMobil for being a vital development partner.
The tank was the ninth set up for ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Mobil Oil New Guinea Limited in the country.
Maladina said: “It is no secret that oil and natural gas companies play a vital role in the economy, and perhaps no single company had played a critical a role as ExxonMobil through its subsidiary companies the PNG LNG Project and Mobil Oil New Guinea.
“Fuel and energy are crucial to our economy, and ensuring stability in the supply chain and competitive pricing is paramount. Effective competition is key to achieving this goal.
“Additionally, I urge Exxon to develop facilities for the importation of Jet A-1 fuel to further support our energy needs.
“Mobil Oil has built a strong presence in Papua New Guinea, demonstrating a century of continued commitment to providing the Papua New Guinean people and industry with the fuel products needed for transportation, power generation and industrial operations.”
He said the fuel shortages in the past 12 months were “unfortunate, but they offer valuable lessons”.
He welcomed the increase in fuel supply, which should meet the demand.
“Mobil Oil is now halfway into its K80million investment plan designed to strengthening its supply of fuel products to Papua New Guineans around the country,” he said.
“As a global company, over the past year or more, it has increased its imports of fuel to ensure industry supply challenges
were met.
“When things were at the darkest, they leveraged their integrated strength to marshal additional supplies not just from their world class Singapore refinery but from ports around the Pacific to bring additional supply vessels to PNG ports.”