Negotiations for LNG project not rushed: Abel

THE government does not intend to rush through the negotiations for the upcoming LNG projects, says Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer Charles Abel.
He said the plan to make a statement about the project during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders’ Meeting was only a part of the process.
“We only talk about deadlines to the extent that we need to keep these things moving but it is not a do or die,” he said.
“We are not here to say that we are going to force a deadline and not fulfill the requirements of the law when negotiating.
“We just put an artificial deadlines, I suppose, to make us work hard and keep things moving. Meetings like Apec need these sort of things around them to add value to them and to create opportunities and interest and opportunities for investors around what is happening in our country.
“We do not just want to talk. We want to have things happening that when we talk it adds value to our discussions. There is not a deadline as such but we can’t sit back and wait for it to happen. We have to be proactive.
“It is a step-by-step process and we are trying to get the fiscal terms, the environmental clearance and the forums with the landowners and the clan-vetting exercise, and some more, before eventually coming to a project agreement.
“The announcement we want to make at Apec just relates to the base fiscal terms. The landowners’ identification and ultimately coming to a final investment decision and project agreement is next year, but for now we have to keep the ball rolling and tick the boxes in the lead-up to that if we are to start those projects in the near future.”
Treasury Secretary Dairi Vele said that countries which have become successful with their resources are those which have been able to control the timing of their production.