Marape pushes for benefits in oil, gas sector

CERTAIN percentages of resources harvested in the oil and gas sector will be quarantined for domestic use, according to Prime Minister James Marape.
Marape said this during the presentation of the Manus provincial government’s share of the subscription payment to the National Gas Corporation (NGC) yesterday at the state function room at Parliament house.
He said this was part of the Government’s outlook to do more downstream processing in the oil and gas sector.
“Every nationally-owned company should be given equal opportunity to participate in the oil and gas business,” he said.
“As far as our outlook is in the oil and gas sector, downstream processing is something that we are seriously discussing and that’s part of our policy and this Government’s DNA.
“This will not only be in oil and gas but all the other sectors of our resource harvest including forestry.
“But in the oil and gas sector in particular, we are looking at quarantining certain percentages of our resource harvest for domestic use which is better known as domestic market obligation. Certain percentages of resources harvest will be put in law through an amendment that is currently taking place that this percentage is now given for the domestic market to use.”
Marape called on provincial governments to support the state’s initiative in encouraging combined investment in nationally-owned resources development companies.
“The power is in the combined balance sheet,” he said.