Domestic market obligation vital: PM

National

THE domestic market obligation will be a key condition for resources development in the country, Prime Minister Peter O’Neill says.
O’Neill said domestic market obligations would ensure that people benefitted from a project and foreign investors participated in the downstream sectors.
He thanked Deputy Prime Minister Charles Abel and Petroleum Minister Dr Fabian Pok for leading a team to negotiate a project development which will benefit the people and development partners.
“We are trying to conclude with a win-win agreement for our developers and our people,” he said.
“Through this development, our government will deliver a very dedicated national content and we will resource some gas for domestic use and reserve the domestic market obligations.
“We are trying to enable through this project ensuring that stranded fields around the project area have access to the pipeline.”
O’Neill said under the national content guidelines, the Government must ensure that local companies continued to be given opportunities to participate in the development of projects.
He said the Kumul Petroleum Holdings would deliver on a new gas distribution programme across the country.
“Cheaper and cleaner power to our people is very important,” O’Neill said.
“Third party access will also discuss opportunities to develop both newly discovered and onshore fields yet to be discovered. For this new opportunities, we will continue to make special arrangements with operator of Papua LNG to ensure that they have access to a pipeline and ensure that the pipeline is built to that capacity.”