Papua New Guinea’s largest resource development has reached a milestone more than a decade in the making.

The PNG Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Project has fully retired its bank-financed project debt, closing one of the most complex financing arrangements in the country’s economic history.

The debt, raised in the late 2000s to fund construction of onshore and offshore infrastructure, totalled about US$16 billion, including interest.

Although liquefied natural gas exports began in 2014, repayments continued for more than a decade, limiting how much revenue flowed to equity holders, including the state through Kumul Petroleum Holdings, which holds a 19.4 percent stake.

In December 2025, joint venture partners accelerated the final repayment, clearing the facility around six months ahead of schedule. Sustained production, disciplined cost control and favourable global LNG prices helped bring forward the close, removing a long-standing financial constraint from the project.

Prime Minister James Marape described the milestone as a national achievement during a site visit to the LNG facilities.

“PNG LNG is now debt-free. It is a free-standing, world-class asset for the country,” he said, linking the early repayment to Papua New Guinea’s credibility as a destination for large-scale global investment.

The Prime Minister has pointed to the project’s long delivery arc — from financing during the global financial crisis to more than a decade of continuous operations — as evidence that PNG can sustain projects of international scale.

What changes now
With the project finance facility closed, PNG LNG’s future revenues will no longer be directed first to servicing debt. After operating costs, cash will flow directly to shareholders, including Kumul Petroleum and, by extension, the state.

That reshapes the project’s financial profile. It does not create an immediate budget windfall, but it improves long-term income prospects and balance-sheet flexibility for PNG’s national oil company.

Kumul Petroleum chairman Gerea Aopi said the timing was strategically important as PNG prepares for its next major gas development.

“Our increased income will strategically flow into and assist us to put together the necessary finance for PNG to take up its mandated 22.5 percent equity in the forthcoming Papua LNG Project, especially during its four-to-five-year construction period,” he said.

Aopi cautioned the announcement should not be read as a sudden cash surplus, noting future income remains exposed to global petroleum prices and largely committed to upcoming obligations.

Malaysia centralised its hydrocarbons industry under Petronas, a commercially run national oil company with broad autonomy. Profits were reinvested domestically over decades, helping fund infrastructure, education and industrial diversification while reducing reliance on raw commodity exports.

Indonesia followed a hybrid approach through Pertamina, operating alongside international partners under production-sharing contracts. While governance challenges persisted, the model allowed the state to retain resource ownership while building domestic capability over time.

Papua New Guinea entered the LNG era later and adopted a project-finance joint-venture model, anchored by foreign operators and lenders. The state participates primarily as an equity partner through Kumul Petroleum rather than as an operator or sector-wide manager.

Large upfront borrowing was repaid from future LNG revenues, meaning debt servicing took priority over dividends for much of PNG LNG’s life.

The retirement of PNG LNG’s debt narrows the gap with regional peers, but it does not change the underlying model PNG follows — one reliant on project-by-project financing rather than a fully integrated national oil company structure.

That distinction now shapes decisions around Papua LNG and P’nyang, where the question is not only how much equity PNG holds, but how revenues are managed once construction and financing pressures return.

From one mega-project to the next
With PNG LNG’s debt chapter closed, attention turns to the next phase of the gas industry. Projects such as Papua LNG and P’nyang are intended to extend exports well into the 2030s, but they bring fresh financing needs, risks and negotiations.

Supporters argue that retiring PNG LNG’s debt early strengthens investor confidence and shows PNG can honour long-term agreements. Each new project, however, will reopen familiar debates over equity, landowner benefits and the balance between fiscal returns and long-term development.

The early retirement of PNG LNG’s project debt closes a significant chapter in Papua New Guinea’s resource history.

Whether it marks a decisive shift in how resource wealth supports long-term development — or simply resets the cycle ahead of the next mega-project — will depend on the choices that follow.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The Papua New Guinea government wants to have everyone on their National Identity (NID) card system by the country’s 50th anniversary on 16 September 2025.

While the government has been struggling to set up the NID programme for more than 10 years, in January the Prime Minister, James Marape, announced they aimed to have 100 percent of Papua New Guineans signed up by September 16.

However, an academic with the University of PNG, working in conjunction with the Australian National University, Andrew Anton Mako, said there was no chance the government could achieve this goal.

Anton Mako spoke with RNZ Pacific senior journalist Don Wiseman:

ANDREW ANTON MAKO: The NID programme was established in November 2014, so it’s 10 years now. I wouldn’t know the mechanics of the delay, why it has taken this long for the project to not deliver on the outcomes, but I can say a lot of money has been invested into the programme.

By the end of this year, the national government would have spent about 500 million kina (over NZ$211 million). That’s a lot of money to be spent on a particular project, and then it would have only registered about 30 to 40 percent of the total population. So there’s a serious issue there. The project has failed to deliver.

DON WISEMAN: Come back to that in a moment. But why does the government think that a national ID card is so important?

AAM: It’s got some usefulness to achieve. If it was well established and well implemented, it would address a number of issues. For example, on doing business and a form of identity that will help people to do business, to apply for jobs in Papua New Guinea or elsewhere, and all that. I believe it has got merit towards it, but I think just that it has not been implemented properly.

DW: Does the population like the idea?

AAM: I think generally when it started, people were on board. But when it got delayed, you see a lot of people venting frustration on the NID Facebook page. I think [it’s] popularity has actually fallen over the years.

DW: It’s money that could go into a whole lot of other, perhaps, more important things?

AAM: Exactly, there’s pressing issues for the country, in terms of law and order, health and education. Those important sectors have actually fallen over the years. So that 500 million kina would have been better spent.

DW: So now the government wants the entire country within this system by September 16, and they’re not going to get anywhere near it. They must have realised they wouldn’t get anywhere near it when the Prime Minister made that statement. Surely?

AAM: It’s not possible. The numbers do not add up. They’ve spent more than 460 million kina over the last 10 years or so, and they’ve only registered 36 percent of the total — 3.3 million people. And then of the 3.3 million people, they’ve only issued an ID card to about 30 to 40 perCent of them . . .

DW: 30 to 40 percent of those who have already signed up. So it’s what, 10 percent of the country?

AAM: That’s right, about 1.2 million people have been issued an ID card, including a duplicate card. It is not possible to register the entire country, the rest of the country, in just six, seven or eight months.

DW: It’s not the first time that the government has come out with what is effectively like a wish list without fully backing it, financially?

AAM: That’s right. The ambitions that the government and the Prime Minister, their intentions are good, but there is no effective strategy how to get there.

The resources that are needed to be allocated. It’s just not possible to realise the the end results. For example, the Prime Minister and his government promised that by this year, we would stop importing rice. That was a promise that was made in 2019, so the thing is that the government has not clearly laid out a plan as to how the country will realise that outcome by this year.

If you are going to promise something, then you have to deliver on it. You have to deliver on the ambitions. Then you have to set up a proper game plan and proper indicators and things like this.

I think that’s the issue, that you have promised something [and] you must deliver. But you must chart out a proper pathway to deliver that.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape made his historic address to the Australian Federal Parliament in Canberra today.

Following Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s welcome address, Marape highlighted with gratitude the historical ties between the two nations and made special reference to the continuous support given to PNG by Australia since independence in 1975.

“We thank Australia for the profound work that has gone into the setting up of key institutions that remain the anchor of this free vibrant democracy of PNG,” said Marape.

Speaking during his address to senators and members of the Australian federal Parliament, Marape described the relationship between the two countries as being “joined to the hips” and “locked into earth’s crust together”, referring to the Indo-Australian tectonic plate.

He emphasised the efforts of Australia as being a “huge pillar of support” in terms of infrastructural development for Papua New Guinea.

Marape also made reference to former Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam and Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare as the “forefathers who made independence possible” and described Australia as being a big brother or sister that had nurtured PNG into adulthood.

Post-Courier: ‘My sons will come’

In an editorial today, the Post-Courier said:

Today’s a historic day in PNG Australia relationships.

On this day, January 8, 2024, in Canberra, a son of Kondom Agaundo, the legendary Papua New Guinean warrior chief, will address the Australian Federal Parliament.

This simple act will fulfill the prophecy of Chief Kondom of Wandi, Chimbu province. His prophecy titled “my sons will come” has become a rallying call for Papua New Guineans to set forth and explore the world of globalism in education, business, sports, foreign policy, tourism and politics.

It was in Canberra that Kondom, a member of the PNG Legislative Council, felt humiliated when he tried to address an Australian audience. His lack of English proficiency irritated the audience who responded with laughter.

Chief Kondom, the son of a powerful warrior chief, felt slighted.

He thought maybe, if not for his poor English, then maybe it was the insinuation of his name.

While he felt insulted, he was a warrior and would not show any weakness. He held fast to his belief that payment for an offence now would be fulfilled later.

He was determined to prove his leadership skills. He was determined to tell the white “mastas” that their time in Papua and New Guinea would end.

He responded with the famous lines: “In my village, I am a chief among my people but today, I stand in front of you like a child and when I try to speak in your language, you laugh at my words.

“But tomorrow, my son will come and he will talk to you in your language, this time you will not laugh at him.”

And that the sons and daughters of Chief Kondom, well educated, very confident, fluent and sophisticated, cultured, tasteful, elegant and vibrant have descended on Australia in the last 50 years.

Former politicians and knights Sir Yano Belo and Sir Nambuka Mara are in Canberra with Prim Minister Marape.

It was the wisdom of people like Chief Kondom, Sir Yano, Sir Nambuka, Sir Peter Lus and many other political warriors that inspired Chief Sir Michael Somare to demand political independence from Australia.

The memory of Chief Kondom lives on in Chimbu and across the country. His legacy is written on buildings and schools.

In 1965, Kondom Agaundo was the Member for Highlands region. He also became a kiap, the first local to embrace Western civilisation.

He was the first president of Waiye Rural LLG 1959 and the first Chimbu man to own and ride horses.

He is remembered as the man who fostered coffee in the Central highlands. Sadly, chief Kondom died in a car crash at Daulo Pass in August 1966.

It is said that the funeral and burial ceremony lasted weeks and over 100 pigs were slaughtered for the man who reminded the Australians his sons would come.

Today, Prime Minister completes the evolution of the legend of Chief Kondom Agaundo, under the watchful gaze of two of Chief Kondom’s surviving peers.

Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape made his historic address to the Australian Federal Parliament in Canberra today.

Following Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s welcome address, Marape highlighted with gratitude the historical ties between the two nations and made special reference to the continuous support given to PNG by Australia since independence in 1975.

“We thank Australia for the profound work that has gone into the setting up of key institutions that remain the anchor of this free vibrant democracy of PNG,” said Marape.

Speaking during his address to senators and members of the Australian federal Parliament, Marape described the relationship between the two countries as being “joined to the hips” and “locked into earth’s crust together”, referring to the Indo-Australian tectonic plate.

He emphasised the efforts of Australia as being a “huge pillar of support” in terms of infrastructural development for Papua New Guinea.

Marape also made reference to former Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam and Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare as the “forefathers who made independence possible” and described Australia as being a big brother or sister that had nurtured PNG into adulthood.

Post-Courier: ‘My sons will come’

In an editorial today, the Post-Courier said:

Today’s a historic day in PNG Australia relationships.

On this day, January 8, 2024, in Canberra, a son of Kondom Agaundo, the legendary Papua New Guinean warrior chief, will address the Australian Federal Parliament.

This simple act will fulfill the prophecy of Chief Kondom of Wandi, Chimbu province. His prophecy titled “my sons will come” has become a rallying call for Papua New Guineans to set forth and explore the world of globalism in education, business, sports, foreign policy, tourism and politics.

It was in Canberra that Kondom, a member of the PNG Legislative Council, felt humiliated when he tried to address an Australian audience. His lack of English proficiency irritated the audience who responded with laughter.

Chief Kondom, the son of a powerful warrior chief, felt slighted.

He thought maybe, if not for his poor English, then maybe it was the insinuation of his name.

While he felt insulted, he was a warrior and would not show any weakness. He held fast to his belief that payment for an offence now would be fulfilled later.

He was determined to prove his leadership skills. He was determined to tell the white “mastas” that their time in Papua and New Guinea would end.

He responded with the famous lines: “In my village, I am a chief among my people but today, I stand in front of you like a child and when I try to speak in your language, you laugh at my words.

“But tomorrow, my son will come and he will talk to you in your language, this time you will not laugh at him.”

And that the sons and daughters of Chief Kondom, well educated, very confident, fluent and sophisticated, cultured, tasteful, elegant and vibrant have descended on Australia in the last 50 years.

Former politicians and knights Sir Yano Belo and Sir Nambuka Mara are in Canberra with Prim Minister Marape.

It was the wisdom of people like Chief Kondom, Sir Yano, Sir Nambuka, Sir Peter Lus and many other political warriors that inspired Chief Sir Michael Somare to demand political independence from Australia.

The memory of Chief Kondom lives on in Chimbu and across the country. His legacy is written on buildings and schools.

In 1965, Kondom Agaundo was the Member for Highlands region. He also became a kiap, the first local to embrace Western civilisation.

He was the first president of Waiye Rural LLG 1959 and the first Chimbu man to own and ride horses.

He is remembered as the man who fostered coffee in the Central highlands. Sadly, chief Kondom died in a car crash at Daulo Pass in August 1966.

It is said that the funeral and burial ceremony lasted weeks and over 100 pigs were slaughtered for the man who reminded the Australians his sons would come.

Today, Prime Minister completes the evolution of the legend of Chief Kondom Agaundo, under the watchful gaze of two of Chief Kondom’s surviving peers.

Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Papua New Guinea and Australia created another piece of history yesterday when James Marape became the first international leader to address the Australian Federal Parliament since 2020.

In a speech laden with heartfelt gratitude and sentimental recollections of the shared history of both nations, the PNG Prime Minister thanked Australia for all it had done for his country – from giving it independence, to sending missionaries and public servants to help develop the country, to fighting together with Papua New Guineans during World War II, to all the current economic and other assistance.

Marape had said before leaving for Canberra that he would not be asking Australia for any help.

He repeated that in his address yesterday — even though he really shouldn’t have, for help from Australia has, is, and will be constant going into the future.

But he did appeal to the Australians not to forget Papua New Guinea during its current, ongoing challenges.

“Today, I carry the humble and deep, deep gratitude of my people, the thousand tribes. On behalf of my people, I thank Australia for everything you have done and continue to do for us,” Marape said.

“I appreciate all governments of Australia which have assisted our governments since 1975.

‘Crucial role in develoment’
“Thank you for continuing to support us throughout the life of our nationhood. Your assistance in education, health, infrastructure development in ports, roads and telecommunications continue to a play a crucial role in our development as a country.

“I appreciate, also, all Australian investors, who, to date, comprise the biggest pool of investors in Papua New Guinea.

“We realise our success as a nation will be the ultimate payoff for the work put in by many Australians.

“Thus, I commit my generation of Papua New Guineans to augmenting the sanctity of our democracy and progressing our economy.

“We pledge to work hard to ensure that PNG emerges as an economically self-sustaining nation so that we too help keep our region safe, secure and prosperous for our two people and those in our Indo-Pacific family.”

Marape’s address comes during a period of constant domestic and external challenges.

He is facing a potential vote of no confidence on his leadership this month and his government is also dealing with competition for influence from world powers, including China, USA, India, Indonesia, France and Australia.

Australia’s ‘real friend’
But he assured Australia that Papua New Guinea is its “real friend”.

This is despite revelations last week that his government was in talks with China over a potential security deal, a revelation that has worried Australia and the United States.

“In a world of many relations with other nations, nothing will come in between our two nations because we are family and through tears, blood, pain and sacrifice plus our eternal past our nations are constructed today,” he promised.

“These have all been our challenges. But as I visit with you in Australia today, I ask of you please, do not give up hope on Papua New Guinea.

“We have always bounced back from low moments and we will continue to grow,” Marape said.

Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz