Incoming government raises Papua LNG doubts

Oil minister Kerenga Kua has pledged to re-examine controversial deal following the collapse of scandal-hit government

The newly elected Papua New Guinea (PNG) government wasted no time in announcing it will review the recently signed Papua LNG agreement—as well as the country's wider hydrocarbon regulatory framework—fuelling speculation the project will face extended delays. The announcement was made barely a month after prime minister Peter O'Neill was forced to resign from office following a parliamentary vote of no confidence. Details from a report carried out by the Ombudsman Commission revealed O'Neill had failed to consult his government on a $1.2bn loan, unconnected to LNG projects, issued by Swiss bank UBS five years previously. Former finance minister James Marape, who had earlier defected from O'N