Photo Credit: Loop PNG
According to Petroleum Minister Kerenga Kua, the proposed merger of Oil Search Limited by Santos must be in the best interests of the country.
While Kua recognizes the significant contribution Oil Search Limited has made to the country, he believes that a merger will result in the company's identity being lost and subsumed under another new business, which will have ramifications.
“The Prime Minister has said that whilst this is a free and open market and because the Oil Search business is based in Papua New Guinea, the Prime Minister has emphasised that Papua New Guinea’s national interest must be factored into the merger arrangements.
“Us as ministers we have been instructed to monitor the national interest components and consequences of the merger,” he said.
As a result, Kua stated that they will be closely monitoring the merger to ensure that the good culture that has grown and becomes a daily expectation for Papua New Guineans, particularly landowners, is preserved, maintained, and built upon.
“There’s nothing we can do about the merger process itself as it is a free market and that’s noble business taking its course but any entity resulting from the merger must always remember the Oil Search culture that has been of considerable benefit to the people of Papua New Guinea.
“That contribution that Oil Search use to make must not be lost when you have a new entity from the merger,” he said.
Reference: Yafoi, Melisha. Post-Courier (6 September 2021). “Oil Search Merge Must Serve National Interests, Says Kua”.
