Petroleum Minister Jimmy Maladina says Papua LNG must deliver lasting and visible benefits to landowners and communities, as well as provide certainty for the project to proceed.
Speaking before the signing of the project’s Tier 1 Benefit Sharing Agreement, Maladina described the agreement as an important milestone and called on the Government, provincial administrations, landowners and project partners to work together in trust and transparency.
He said landowners must be genuine participants and beneficiaries, with project benefits clearly identified, transparently managed and fairly distributed.
“Their expectations include better services, opportunities for young people, access to employment and business, and a fair share of the project’s benefits,” he said.
Maladina said the project’s success should be judged not only by gas exports or revenue, but by improvements to people’s lives. He identified royalties, development levies, equity participation, infrastructure, business development, employment and training as key benefit streams.
He urged that royalties and levies support essential services such as schools, health care, roads and water supply. Equity arrangements, he said, should provide eligible beneficiaries with meaningful long-term interests and be backed by sound governance.
“Infrastructure commitments must result in completed and maintained projects, while business support should help build capable Papua New Guinean enterprises,” Maladina said.
The minister also called for greater participation by Papua New Guinean workers and businesses. Where skills gaps exist, he said, the project should support training, apprenticeships, and technical education. Local companies should have meaningful procurement and contracting opportunities when they meet commercial, technical, and safety requirements.
Maladina stressed that signing the Tier 1 agreement was not the end of the forum process. Negotiations on Tiers 2 to 5 were expected to continue through October, with the aim of concluding them in early November.
“I urged all parties to negotiate in good faith and resolve differences through dialogue, verified information and respect for the agreed process,” Minister Maladina encourages.
He said the Government had a responsibility to ensure that commitments made during the development forum were implemented, particularly in Gulf and Central provinces.
Ultimately, he said, communities would judge the agreements by whether benefits reached legitimate recipients and translated into completed projects, sustainable businesses, jobs and training.
Maladina thanked landowner leaders, provincial governments, ExxonMobil and other project partners, government agencies, facilitators, technical teams and advisers.
He called for the remaining negotiations to proceed constructively so Papua LNG could become an example of responsible resource development that respects investors, strengthens provinces and benefits landowners and future generations.