Potape: Kick out InterOil

By JEFFREY ELAPA
INTEROIL, the developer of the second PNG LNG project in the Gulf province should be removed if it continues to work outside the original agreement, former petroleum and energy Minister Francis Potape says.
Potape said when he was minister, he had advised InterOil several times to look for a reputable international company to develop the project with but it had not done so and continued to insist it could develop the project.
Potape said as the minister he stopped the project in the previous government.
He said small companies such as InterOil should not be allowed to develop a large scale LNG project in PNG.
Potape made the call after Petroleum Minister William Duma said InterOil was working outside its agreement with the government.
Duma said neither he nor the government could kick out investors but given the circumstances that a company was not working in line with the law and the agreements in place, such action was warranted whether or not the company liked it.
He said InterOil was a small company and did not have the capacity to develop a large world-class LNG project because it did not have the capacity and experience.
Duma said the government would not allow InterOil to develop the project in phases as it wanted to do.
 “I have no personal interest in Shell but we have asked InterOil to partner with a reputable and world class company such as Shell, ExxonMobil, BP and others because we want to develop a world-class project,” he said.
Duma said the government was eager to have a full scale development with the Gulf project.
Earlier, Gulf governor had accused Duma of having a personal interest in the project by supporting Shell, a company that had previously left PNG.