Investors urged to arrange gas supply

 PETROLEUM and Energy Minister Nixon Duban (pictured) is urging potential investors for the proposed petrochemical plant outside Port Moresby to seek their own supply of gas.

He said the companies would have to negotiate with operators of the projects such as the Elk/Antelope (Gulf) and Stanley Gas (Western) for natural gas.

Duban said the gas from the PNG LNG project would not be supplied to the petrochemical plant as it has a market overseas. He said Japanese company Sojitz was one of these investors he was advising to seek their own supply of gas. 

“The government makes commitments publicly that we want a petrochemical plant, but we are not able to secure the gas for those opportunities,” he said.

“I have informed representatives (of interested investors) that its better that they deal with the company that is extracting gas and selling gas rather than coming to the State. 

“We (government) are not a marketing vehicle in this sort of arrangement – we are more of a regulator.

 “We want to see you approach the company which has access to gas, you deal with them and then let us (PNG Government) know.

“Once we go into middle of 2015, I’m very sure that we will find a way forward for some of those companies. They have a choice. They don’t need to restrict themselves to the park. 

“Companies can negotiate 15 per cent with operators of Elk/Antelope, they can have that petrochemical somewhere in Gulf, or Western province too,” Duban said. 

The park has been proposed as an industrial hub for the petroleum industry.