19/10/2025
By Minister for Finance Hon. Thomas Opa, MP
Saturday October 19, 2025
THE funds recently released to the PNG LNG Project landowners are not from the 2025 National Budget or any Government of Papua New Guinea (GoPNG) appropriations. These monies belong entirely to the landowners (LOs) of the PNG LNG Project.
Since the commencement of the project, royalty payments made by ExxonMobil were never transferred to any LO-nominated company. Instead, all funds were held in trust accounts at the Bank of Papua New Guinea (BPNG), with the Secretaries for Petroleum and Finance as the designated trustees and signatories to the trust deeds.
Unfortunately, while these funds remained in trust, they did not accrue any interest, resulting in significant financial losses for the landowners. Had these funds been released earlier and invested in Treasury Bills, the LOs could have earned substantial returns — potentially up to K500 million over the past seven to eight years.
To illustrate, for every K1 billion invested, Treasury Bills can yield K60 million to K80 million annually. Over several years, the compounded interest from such investments would have represented a major financial benefit for the landowners.
Now that these funds have been rightfully released to the respective LO companies, they can invest directly in Treasury Bills and other secure financial instruments to generate returns and support sustainable community development.
Let me be clear that these are not public funds, and there is no reason for public concern or criticism. These are royalties that rightfully belong to the landowners, and the Government has done the correct and responsible thing by ensuring they finally receive what is theirs.
