Minister directs department to focus on Pasca project

PETROLEUM and Energy Minister Kerenga Kua has directed the department to focus on the Pasca condensate and gas field project located almost 100km offshore in the Gulf of Papua.
This is to ensure a gas agreement is in place towards the middle of the year.
“The developer, Twinza, has already complied with many requirements under the Oil and Gas Act which enabled me to sign off on ministerial determination last August so they could proceed to the next phase of commercialising the project,” he said. “With the instruction from Prime Minister James Marape, the Department of Petroleum has set a timetable to ensure further legal and regulatory requirements are satisfied before a PDL (petroleum development license) can be granted,” he said. “In compliance with the Oil and Gas Act, a development forum will take place between the provincial and national governments.
“We anticipate this to take place once arrangements such as finance are in place.”
Kua said the project was 95km out to sea and beyond the fishing grounds of landowners.
“Therefore, it will be the first project in the country not to have any landowners,” he said.
Kua said Twinza had been operating in PNG since 2011.
“With this determination, I am confident that Twinza can convert the Pasca gas to LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) for our domestic and regional market,” he said. The project will increase the national gross domestic product and export earnings, boost Government revenue and create jobs.
It should also provide a catalyst for further resource development in Gulf by providing third party access to stranded gas resources for processing and export via the Pasca A platform.
The direct impact of the project is projected to deliver capital investment of US$624mil (K2.086bil) in terms of the life of the project.
Recurrent operating expenditure, including a significant level of local spending on support services, is expected to average US$41mil (K137mil) per year over the life of the project.
Further returns to Government may arise from equity participation in the project.