Oil Search Chairman claims PNG LNG has not been disrupted

Oil Search Ltd has a 29% interest in the PNG LNG project. The following is an exert from the Chairman's address to the Oil Search Annual General Meeting (8/5/12). It is an interesting interpretation of security conditions around the project over the past year:

"There has been considerable political uncertainty in PNG over the past year, which has created some concerns within the banking and investment communities. Despite the political instability, neither the PNG LNG Project nor our operations have been disrupted [Then why the need for PNGDF deployment? - LNG Watch]. Ensuring the continued security and safety of our staff and contract ors in the run up to the election remains the highest priority for Oil Search

We are encouraged that the Government has confirmed the election will proceed according to the original timetable. The country is already in a period of major social and economic change. This will increase further when the very significant revenues from the PNG LNG Proj ect start to flow in 2014. We look forward to working with the incoming Government, in particular, on establishing structures and processes t o manage thes e very substantial benefits streams, in the best interests of the nation, and on ensuring consistency of fiscal terms, which is critical to ongoing investment".