The newly appointed prime minister of Papua New Guinea (PNG), James Marape, is hinting at a possible revision of contract terms for the country’s burgeoning LNG sector, raising political uncertainty and the potential of project delays. Politicians voted for former fnance minister Marape to succeed Peter O’Neill after he resigned on 29 May — the latest departure in the wake of concerns about the government’s role in fnancing a A$1.2bn ($835mn) loan to buy a 10pc stake in Australian independent Oil Search. PNG subsequently unwound its holding in Oil Search at a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars — no exact amount was given. The country’s ombudsman recommended that O’Neill — who has led the country since 2012 — be further investigated for his role in the transaction. Oil Search has signifcant interests in the PNG LNG and Papua LNG projects.
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