Pruaitch wants more positive regime

Opposition Leader Patrick Pruaitch says he wants to see a more positive regime for royalty and development levy payments which
go to landowners, provincial governments and local level governments.
He suggested the government include important non-fiscal issues during current negotiations for the bproposed construction of three additional LNG trains using gas from P’nyang (Western) and Elk-Antelope (Gulf).
In a statement, Pruaitch said: “There should not be any instance ever again where royalty payments turn negative because of a fall in the price of LNG or other mineral commodities such as copper and gold.
“On the assumption that a negative royalty translates to negative returns to Papua New Guinea, some control would need to be put in place to avoid or minimise such exports.
“This situation can be avoided by changing the basis for calculating royalty and the development levy, basing them on the free-on-board value of shipments without deduction of any costs.”