Pacific

PNG PM arrives in Japan to greet gas shipment

11:37 am on 5 June 2014

Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister has arrived in Japan for the arrival of the first shipment from his country's liquified natural gas project.

The Post Courier reports that Peter O'Neill arrived with a delegation of several MPs who were greeted in Tokyo by the PNG ambassador, Gabriel Dusava.

The delegation will greet the tanker, Spirit of Hela, when it arrives in port this week with the the first shipment from the ExxonMobil-led project for the Tokyo Electric Power Company.

The US$19 billion LNG project - which makes PNG the world's newest energy exporter - is expected to produce more than 9 trillion cubic feet of gas over its estimated 30-year lifespan and contribute billions of dollars to the PNG economy.