PNG puts politics aside for gas project [ 31jan06 ]

THE Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Sir Michael Somare, has told a Townsville delegation he is confident the politics of government and industry can be overcome to develop the $6 billion PNG gas project.Sir Michael met with the delegation, led by Mayor Tony Mooney, in Port Moresby yesterday.
"We may be politicians," he told Cr Mooney, "but we know also that industry have their own politics too."
"You can be rest assured we are quite confident.
"We hope we can pull it together and make it work for the betterment of both countries."
A consortium led by ExxonMobil but also including the PNG Government is backing development of gas fields in the country's remote Southern Highlands to supply markets, including Townsville, in eastern Australia via a PNG to Queensland pipeline.
Pipelines are to be built from PNG across the Torres Strait along the east coast of Queensland to Gladstone with lateral pipes to run from Weipa across the Gulf of Carpentaria to Gove in the Northern Territory and from Keelbottom Creek north of Townsville to Ballera in the State's southwest.
The gas fields are in the Hides and Kutubu oil fields up to 9000 feet above sea level which have been producing oil for export since 1993.
Representatives of gas corporation the Australian Gas Light Company (AGL), which has announced a $500 million investment in 10 per cent of the oil and gas fields and agreements as a major gas customer, have joined the Townsville delegation for a tour of oil and gas plant and infrastructure.
AGL spokesman Dean Russell told the meeting with Sir Michael that the gas project remained on track with final engineering design to be completed by the first quarter of this year and a decision on whether to go ahead with the project to be made in the third quarter of this year.
Mr Russell said the Queensland Government's decision last week to grant special status to the Ballera lateral pipe was a significant step.
"That will link PNG gas into the Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane markets," he said.
"That's a very significant step for us."
Mr Russell said AGL had decided to split the company with the infrastructure business owning and operating the pipeline and the energy business owning the gas and power stations in Townsville and other areas.
AGL plans to build a $350 million 370 megawatt power station at Townsville to be commissioned in 2009 when PNG gas comes on stream.
Cr Mooney told Sir Michael the delegation had received positive feedback about the project which it would take back to Townsville.
"We have to keep on lobbying the State and Federal Governments to make sure there are no barriers," Cr Mooney said, to which Sir Michael replied:"I think the State Government is okay, you have to lobby hard the Federal Government, the big one."
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