PNG told to think again about gas reliance

5:24 pm on 11 May 2018

There are calls for Papua New Guinea to re-think its emphasis on oil, gas and minerals.

Exxon Mobil PNG's LNG plant near Port Moresby

Exxon Mobil PNG's LNG plant near Port Moresby Photo: (C)2014 {Richard Dellman/AdvantagePNG}, all rights reserved

The human rights NGO, Jubilee Australia, has published two damning reports on PNG's ExxonMobil-led LNG project in the past month, saying it has brought few positives to the country.

In the latest report called 'On Shaky Ground,' Jubilee said the people of Hela province, where the project is centred, were angry and frustrated that the promised benefits had not been delivered.

Jubilee's Luke Fletcher said the PNG government could re-negotiate the deal and improve the flow of royalties.

But the report also encouraged people to reconsider reliance on extracting resources, he said

"In a general sense I think the report is also encouraging PNG to think about gas as the answer to it solving problems in general.

"And in that sense, really, some long hard thinking about all these new LNG projects that are being mooted and whether they are going to cause the same sort of problems."

Discontent with the LNG project was threatening unrest, Mr Fletcher said.

Get the RNZ app

for ad-free news and current affairs