Press RELEASE
𝐎’𝐍𝐄𝐈𝐋𝐋: 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐞’𝐬 ‘𝐖𝐢𝐧-𝐖𝐢𝐧’ 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐌𝐲𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋
Media Statement
Sunday 22 March 2026
Approved for Immediate Release
Reports last week surfaced that the Marape government is considering a multi-billion USD support package—including massive tax incentives—to rescue the K62 billion Papua LNG project after its Final Investment Decision (FID) was once again pushed back.
“Prime Minister James Marape is ‘bending over backwards’ to global developers of the Papua LNG project while sacrificing billions in national revenue through unprecedented tax concessions.”
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟗 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨
“In 2019, James Marape stood before this nation and promised to ‘Take Back PNG.’ He promised to move us from being ‘tax collectors’ to ‘resource owners.’ Today, we see that manifesto is dead,” Mr. O’Neill said.
“By offering a rumoured US$3 billion in concessions to foreign developers, he is doing the exact opposite of what he promised. This latest pandering is the ultimate evidence that Marape has lost his grip and has abandoned the very principles he used to seize power.”
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬, 𝐄𝐠𝐨-𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞
Mr. O’Neill pointed to a series of high-level international meetings in January as the catalyst for the current desperation. After meeting with the President of the IMF and announcing the political and egotistical claim that PNG would be "debt-free by 2033," the Prime Minister went on an international tour.
“This debt-free fantasy was quickly followed by meetings in Davos with Total Energies and ExxonMobil and more IMF bosses, before Marape dispatched his Minister for Petroleum and State negotiating team to Paris to confirm his government’s ‘bending over backwards’ approach.
He has backed himself into a corner where he must secure this project at any cost to protect his own political ego and pandering to the Economic Masters of PNG, the IMF.”
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐔𝐒$𝟑 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝐊𝟏𝟐 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧) 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞
Mr. O’Neill urged the public to understand the scale of the "tax concessions" being handed to developers.
“To put this in perspective, US$3 billion is roughly K12 billion. That K12 billion could have funded:
• A decade of Free Education for every child from Prep to Grade 12; or
• 15 brand new Specialist Hospitals like Wabag, Wewak, ANGAU, Goroka; or
• Over 10,000 new modern classroom blocks; or
• A fully equipped and housed Police Force to finally bring law and order. Instead, Marape is choosing to fund the profit margins of foreign giants while our own hospitals and schools lack basic medicine and classrooms.”
𝐀 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐭𝐲
Mr. O’Neill highlighted the contrast between his government’s 2019 domestic negotiations and the current administration’s ‘cap-in-hand’ diplomacy.
“In 2019, when my government signed the Papua LNG agreement with TotalEnergies, we did it right here in Port Moresby. We sat on our own soil and negotiated a deal that was fair to our people.”
“Why is James Marape now running around the world—from Washington DC to Davos and Paris—pandering to the IMF and the developers?”
“We are the owners of the resource; they should be coming to us, not the other way around.”
𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐞’𝐬 “𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐏𝐍𝐆” 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐬
“Terrible deals like Porgera, where we are paying billions to be shareholders in an existing mine when it should by now be 100% ours.”
“The original investment of the Porgera mine developers has been fully recouped, and this mine should ours. Like Ok Tedi, Porgera should now be 100% owned by the people of Papua New Guinea.”
“Instead Marape shut it down, promising 100% local ownership and years later, delivered a deal of part ownership where the shares will take us at least a decade to pay for. What good deal?”
𝐀 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞
In 2013, 100% ownership of Ok Tedi transferred to the people of PNG. Sadly, since 2019, Ok Tedi has become a cash cow for the political inner circle and relatives of Marape. Marape, through his close Chinese business associates, have taken control of much of Ok Tedi’s risk free cash flows by forcing the supply of XCMG PNG machinery, a company owned and controlled by close Marape cronies.
“In late 2023, Marape in Hong Kong promised XCMG huge tax concessions to set up manufacturing in PNG. Three years later no manufacturing, none of the promised factory jobs but plenty of business flowing XCMG way.”
In addition, Ok Tedi has been used to give massive tax credit projects to Marape relatives including the controversial road contracts of K240 plus million awarded to Ipwenz Construction Limited.
“Meanwhile, life expectancy of our people is reversing; literacy rates are declining while a mine that should be benefitting our people is filling the pockets Marape cronies instead. It is just not right.”
𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐑𝐮𝐛𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐦𝐩 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐢-𝐏𝐍𝐆 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐬
The reality is the actions of Marape have consistently benefited foreigners and Marape associates, not Papua New Guineans. Papua LNG is turning out the same way.
Last week, the petroleum minister, as stated in Parliament, wants the NEC to rubber stamp massive tax concessions to Papua LNG – a deal too good to believe for the foreign developers and catastrophic for PNGs future.
“The Marape Government is defined by a pattern of fiscal irresponsibility, corruption and a fire sale of our future. While developers in the Middle East face production cuts, PNG remains a peaceful haven—yet we are the ones being asked to pay for the Marape-made delays to the Papua LNG project.”
“The people of Papua New Guinea deserve better than a Prime Minister who begs and promises in Washington DC, Canberra, Paris and Davos. We need a government with the backbone to stand its ground in Port Moresby and stick to the 2019 Papua LNG agreement.”
𝐇𝐨𝐧. 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐎’𝐍𝐞𝐢𝐥𝐥, 𝐂𝐌𝐆, 𝐌𝐏
Member for Ialibu-Pangia
Leader of the People’s National Congress Party
