Pruaitch: Misleading statements by PM, Sonk

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Opposition Leader Patrick Pruaitch, pictured, said today it was disappointing that Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited Managing Director Wapu Sonk made misleading statements at the Papua New Guinea Petroleum Summit.
Both national daily newspapers quoted O’Neill as telling conference delegates in his keynote opening address that the Papua LNG Project “would produce close to 2.7 million metric tonnes per annum” when the actual figure is twice that amount.
Pruaitch said: “How can people in this country have confidence in the negotiation process for the nation’s second LNG project when the prime minister does not seem to be aware of the actual size of this venture.
“There have been hundreds of mentions in the media and elsewhere that the Papua LNG Project will consist of two LNG trains, each of which will produce 2.7 million tonnes annually.”
Sonk, who will be responsible for the government’s 22.5 per cent equity in Papua LNG, appeared to be even more ill-informed.
Pruaitch said dissemination of this misinformation at the country’s premier national petroleum conference, which was funded by Kumul Petroleum, was truly disturbing.