PNG LNG PROJECT DELIVERING LONG-TERM OPPORTUNITIES

The PNG LNG Project has achieved major milestones in training for local citizens during the construction phase of the Project, with over 1.6 million hours of training delivered to date.

Esso Highlands Limited Managing Director Peter Graham said increasing the skills of the workforce, while maintaining the Project schedule, remain core commitments.

“We are maximising construction phase employment opportunities for Papua New Guineans wherever possible, while also preparing workers for future opportunities both inside and outside the Project,” Mr Graham said. 

“Our aim is to provide training and opportunities that will positively change and enhance the lives of Papua New Guinean workers.

“As part of this approach, the Project is helping to build the capacity and develop the skills of Papua New Guineans. To date, the Project has delivered more than 1.6 million hours of training, with over 678,500 hours delivered in 2012 alone.”

Entering its fourth year of construction, the Project is on track for the first LNG deliveries to begin in 2014, with a number of major construction milestones now at, or nearing, completion.

The Project’s Fourth Quarter 2012 Environmental and Social Report outlines the major milestones for the quarter and identifies key achievements for 2012. Some of the latest Project accomplishments include:

·         By end of the fourth quarter 2012, the Project was 75 percent complete.

·         More than 19 million work hours without a Lost Time Incident.

·         The graduation of 800 workers from the Project’s Safety Champions initiative to date.

·         First layer of asphalt placed on 1.6 kilometres of runway at the Komo Airfield.

·         The completion of welding on all 120 pipe rack modules for the LNG jetty and the inner tank rings on both LNG tanks.

·         A total spend of 1.47 billion Kina (US$700 million) with landowner companies (Lancos), out of a total in-country spend of 6.65 billion Kina (US$3.16 billion).

·         The release of a book titled Kastom Stori Sene Gori (traditional stories) as a result of a story writing and drawing competition conducted with 26 schools in the Project impact area in 2011.

·         The rollout of the National Road Safety Council’s Road Safety Awareness campaign for the Highlands Highway, with 50,000 participants from the Goroka, Hides and Komo communities in the Hela Province.

The Fourth Quarter 2012 Environmental and Social Report, the twelfth quarterly report issued by the Project, is available on the PNG LNG website at www.pnglng.com

Esso Highlands Media and Communications Unit