Photo credit: Kevin Lee / Bloomberg - Getty Images
Hon James Marape has praised and congratulated China's leadership for allowing for a very beneficial interaction to extend their country's continuous interest in Papua New Guinea's oil and gas industry, notably in two of the country's most important gas projects, Papua LNG and P'nyang.
This was expressed by the Prime Minister in reference to discussions between his team and Sinopec, China's largest petroleum corporation, which took place in Beijing on February 5, 2022.
PM Marape also expressed gratitude and praise for his Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Hon. Wapu Sonk, the managing director of Kerenga Kua and Kumul Petroleum Holdings Ltd, initiated discussions on his behalf with Sinopec's senior vice president on Saturday, February 5, 2022.
The discussion focused on the petroleum industry in Papua New Guinea and Sinopec's engagement in upstream and downstream potential in the country, particularly Sinopec's interest in purchasing LNG from Papua LNG and P'yang Gas.
“I express our deep gratitude to both President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang for asking Sinopec to meet with our Petroleum Minister and MD Sonk. The meeting has turned out very well with Sinopec indicating it would look at buying more gas from Papua LNG, P’nyang and others we may have in the pipeline,” said Prime Minister Marape in Port Moresby today.
“Our intent for the trip to China was to promote our government’s move into downstream processing, a message that was received well and supported in full by Premier Li during my own virtual meeting with him, leading to him committing his government’s full assurance.
“It was very unfortunate that the scheduled meeting on Friday with President Xi had to be cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions, but the meeting the next day with Premier Li went well, for which I am grateful.
“I am pleased with the outcome as we look forward to having our own leading petroleum company, Kumul Petroleum Holdings Ltd, partner with Sinopec to progress the discussions into practical solutions for both our countries,” said the Prime Minister.
Sinopec is a long-term LNG client for PNG LNG, with a contract that lasts up to 20 years, and this re-engagement with PNG will expand Sinopec's investment in PNG oil and gas.
China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) is an abbreviation for China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation. The corporation, which is registered as a state-owned enterprise, is China's largest supplier of oil and petrochemical goods and one of the world's largest.
Reference: Department of Prime Minister and National Executive Council (7 February 2022). “PM Marape Applauds Chinese Petroleum Giant Sinopec Continued Interest In Png Oil And Gas”.
