Energy

The near future will bring positive change for the energy sector and the economy as a whole, as the investment and construction phase of the $19bn Papua New Guinea liquefied natural gas (LNG) project winds down and the first shipments of gas begin to flow. Progress is also being made in the utilities sector, with major power generation projects and the expansion of water and sewage networks. The billions of dollars invested in the PNG LNG project have trickled down across nearly all sectors of the economy, from services to real estate, as the country waited for export revenue streams to come on-line. The government will now start to see a more direct impact on its bottom line as LNG exports begin to move. How much progress takes place across the sector – and how rapidly it occurs – may rely in large part on government cooperation with the private sector and on ongoing changes to the regulatory framework. This chapter contains interviews with Peter Graham, Managing Director, ExxonMobil PNG; Michael Hession, CEO, InterOil; Peter Botten CEO, Oil Search; and Raka Taviri, Water PNG.