Kumul Petroleum signs deal to build fabrication facility, Nasfund announces net profit and feasibility study for the Mongi hydroelectric project. Your business news in summary.

PNG’s Prime Minister, James Marape, and France’s President, Emmanuel Macron, during the One Forest Summit in March 2023. Credit: Office of the Prime Minister

Resources

Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited (KPHL) and the Dubai-based company Fabtech International have signed a deal to build a fabrication facility in PNG’s capital city, Port Moresby. The facility will be built in preparation for the construction phase of the Papua LNG project and will produce steel and mechanical, piping and electrical packages. The facility is expected to create 1000 jobs for skilled Papua New Guineans. (The National)

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After years of waiting, the TotalEnergies-led Papua LNG gas project has officially entered its FEED [front end engineering and design] stage – the last major stage before the $US10 billion project is given a green light. (Business Advantage PNG)

National

PNG’s national stock exchange, the PNGX, has announced the release of a new Corporate Governance Code. It contains 17 standards with a number of recommendations all developed to ensure companies in PNG follow global standards. (Post-Courier)

Energy

Feasibility studies on the construction of the K600 million Mongi hydroelectric project in Finschhafen, Morobe Province, could start soon. The Morobe government has signed an agreement with the company Conduit Power Corporation to start feasibility studies. (The National)

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Technical and non-technical losses as well as power theft activities translated into a 26 to 30 per cent energy loss for PNG Power. The company says these problems leads to a ‘drastic loss’ in cash flow, which means limited monies to invest in repair and maintenance as well as other capital investment requirements to improve service.

It’s been reported that the company has developed a Revenue Protection Strategy as part of its three-year corporate plan to combat power theft and maintain existing revenue. (Post-Courier)

International

Prime Minister Marape paid a visit to France’s President Emmanuel Macron during the One Forest Summit. Their meeting, according to a press release, covered sustainable logging, climate change and France’s assistance to PNG.

Marape said about the visit: ‘I’m hoping for a partnership with the France Government to see similar projects like what is being done in Gabon, including downstream processing of logs.’ (PNG Office of the Prime Minister).

Finance

Superannuation fund Nasfund achieved a net profit after tax of K256 million for the year ending 31 December 2022.

Following these results, it board has approved an interest crediting rate of 4.3% for the 2022 financial year, with over K260 million allocated to over 650,000 member accounts. (Nasfund)