Collaboration between Papua New Guinea’s petroleum and energy sectors will be the theme of the third CWC Papua New Guinea Petroleum and Energy Summit, taking place in Port Moresby on 19-21 March. The event will feature updates, and discussions on expansion opportunities in the country’s energy sector.

Senior energy officials in discussions at last year’s conference. Credit: CWC

Following on from PNG’s hosting of the APEC summit in November 2018, the three-day conference will have a sharp focus on PNG’s LNG expansion. Senior government officials, including PNG’s Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill, will attend the event.

‘With any energy development it’s important for people to work together,’ says Gurpreet Hayre, Vice President of Gas and LNG at CWC.

‘PNG is at a stage now where there are a lot of regional players who need to come in and get involved in some of these opportunities.’

Program

The program will feature industry experts sharing their experiences in the region, panel discussions about the challenges to the energy sector, and opportunities for delegates to ask questions to industry decision-makers.

A regional Asia players’ panel at the summit will feature speakers from the Asia-Pacific region discussing how collaborations between governments in the region can result in more project development in PNG.

The summit will also provide further details on the electrification MOU signed by Australia, China, the US and New Zealand at APEC. The project aims to give power to 70 per cent of PNG by 2030.

‘We’re hoping for a continued discussion about what sort of things can happen over the next few years to drive the electrification upwards,’ says Hayre.

‘It’s turning into an annual meeting platform for industry inside the country, from government level, operator level through to service and the industrial side of things.’

Site visits

Delegates will be among the first offered the chance to visit the Port Moresby Power Project, developed by NiuPower. The project, which uses gas for local power generation, begins operations in March. A site visit to the Exxon-Mobil PNG-LNG site is also featured in the program.

‘It’s a great opportunity to see a world-class integrated LNG project and to hear about how it came about in development,’ says Hayre.

‘Building such a large-scale project in challenging, tricky terrain was always going to be challenging , but I think Exxon and their partners did a great job delivering it on time and on budget.’

Key stakeholders

Hayre said the summit’s history has stemmed from the relationships CWC has built with key stakeholders in Papua New Guinea’s LNG gas industry. This year, the summit has attracted registrations from across Asia, including Australia, Japan, Malaysia and China.

‘I think this year we have reached a tipping point where we’re seeing a lot of interest from around the region from people who want to get involved with developing sustainable projects.’

‘It’s a good opportunity for those who are not in the market to understand how it works in Papua New Guinea’

For those outside the PNG market, the summit is a chance to understand the country’s investment opportunities in infrastructure and power development. Hayre said it also presents a key networking opportunity for those in PNG’s oil and gas industry.

‘It’s an opportunity for the entire industry that is already operating in Papua New Guinea to get together and update each other and meet up.’

Good prospects

Hayre said the likelihood of a second LNG project indicates that the prospects for the industry are good.

‘More energy is going to be developed in the country and the geographical location of PNG means it’s easy for them to export LNG around Asia at a very cost-competitive price.’

The third CWC Papua New Guinean Petroleum and Energy Summit, which is endorsed by the PNG Government, will be held from 19–21 March at the Hilton Port Moresby.