Oil Search Managing Director Peter Botten says the company’s emphasis on the social dimension is a model for other developing countries.

Business in Papua New Guinea thrives from having a social dimension.

I represent a Papua New Guinean company, Oil Search, which, although a relatively small oil and gas producer in a regional context, is one of, if not the largest, private sector investor in PNG. We have significant interests in PNG LNG, the newly developing Papua LNG Project, we operate all the country’s oil fields and we have the largest exploration portfolio in the nation.

Since 2003, we have invested almost US$11 billion (K37 billion) in exploration and development in Papua New Guinea. With almost all our assets in PNG our future is inexorably linked to the successful social and economic development of this nation.

Developers in PNG have to address and participate in the social, as well as the economic, development of the country and its people. There is a compelling business case, and strong social responsibility, to play an active role in working with government and, most importantly, our communities— in true private-public partnerships, to ensure developments are done in a sustainable way.

PNG is blessed by having abundant natural resources. Although relatively small on a world scale, oil and gas reservoirs are generally prolific. It is a pretty good place to find and develop oil and gas, although logistics challenges do not make this work cheap.

Leveraging the capacity of the private sector through innovative partnerships with government, community and stakeholders has resulted in definition, and then delivery, of agreed development objectives. Increasingly, the private sector is recognising that business will thrive if it can improve society, whilst generating a fair return. What happens here in PNG can be a model for economic and social development in other developing countries.  -- This is an extract of a speech given to the 2018 APEC CEO Summit.

Peter Botten, Managing Director of Oil Search