Twinza director applauds negotiation outcomes for gas project

PAPUA New Guinea has shown it can negotiate better terms for the country from its resource projects, Twinza Oil Ltd director Erick Kowa says.
Kowa was speaking during the announcement of the outcome of negotiations between the State negotiating team (SNT) and Twinza regarding the Pasca A gas project, in Port Moresby yesterday.
“It’s been a long and challenging process on both sides amidst the backdrop of the Covid-19,” he said.
“We have a very strong prime minister and a very strong petroleum minister.
“We pushed hard to try and reconcile the challenges of stepping into a pioneer offshore environment in the petroleum sector in this country, but, at the same time, we received a firm stance on the other side (SNT).
“It just goes to demonstrate that Papua New Guinea has come of
age in what it wants for its
people.
“Papua New Guinea is blessed with a lot of resources on the ground and in the sea and the Pasca A project will mark the commencement of a new development environment in the petroleum sector.
“It is a small project, and at the same time during the negotiation, I have to acknowledge my shareholders, the Clough family, Clough and Kerogen Capital, for putting money into this country and everyone who stood behind us to give us something to negotiate about.
“Papua New Guinea is a place for patient capital.
“It is not a place, for someone to come in and for three years and expect to exit with the deal all of a sudden.
“The Pasca development has been a trademark of that investment characteristic in the country.
“There’s a clause in the gas agreement that gives us a time limit to develop the project and we will stick to that.”
Prime Minister James Marape said the project would produce rich-liquids in the first two-year phase (phase one) and gas thereafter (phase two) for an estimate project life of 12 years.
“For the Pasca A project, the SNT was tasked to achieve a State take of no less than 55 per cent and above on a nominal basis, and 50 per cent and above, on a discounted cash flow basis.”