Photo: Petroleum Minister Kerenga Kua
Petroleum Minister Kerenga Kua attended a virtual meeting in Beijing with Snr Vice President of Chinese Petroleum Giant SINOPEC.
Minister Kua accompanied Prime Minister James Marape to Beijing and held a separate meeting to discuss various aspects of PNG's petroleum business, including how SINOPEC can best partner in upstream and downstream processing opportunities, as well as their interest in buying LNG from the Papua LNG Project and the P'nyang Gas Development Project.
SINOPEC, as the first LNG customer of PNG LNG with a 2MTPA long-term (20-year) contract, is looking for other long-term LNG contracts for the PNG LNG projects that are due to begin FEED in the middle of this year.
SINOPEC is also interested in Upstream involvement for existing projects as well as new licenses that provide the greatest investment potential.
Minister Kua pledged to assist them with their entry into the Papua New Guinea petroleum business in a broader sense, urging them to engage with Kumul Petroleum Holdings Ltd, PNG's national oil company.
Mr Kua was joined by Kumul Petroleum Managing Director, Mr Wapu Sonk who will now follow through on with SINOPEC for the working group between SINOPEC and Kumul Petroleum to immediately expedite the Papua LNG Project LNG Marketing, Upstream and Downstream Partnership and look into Ammonia as Blue Energy and carrier of Hydrogen for Green Energy Projects in the country.
Reference: Department of Prime Minister and National Executive Council (6 February 2022). “Minister Kua participates in virtual meeting with senior SINOPEC officials, led by Snr Vice President, Liu Hongbin”.
