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FILE PHOTO: A logo for the oil giant Total is visible at a gas station in London on February 12, 2008. REUTERS / Stephen Hird / File Photo
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Papua New Guinea announced Sunday its support for a deal on liquefied natural gas (LNG) previously concluded with the French oil group Total SA TOTFPA>, although some conditions remain to be negotiated.
The agreement, signed for a project called Papua LNG, was accepted in April but was revised after the Prime Minister who signed it was ousted in a parliamentary vote in May, following a crisis caused by discontent with the distribution of wealth in resources.
On Sunday, Oil Minister Kerenga Kua, appointed to the portfolio in June by new Prime Minister James Marape, said his government "supports the project in principle."
Papua LNG, a joint venture of Total, Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM.N) and Australia's Oil Search Ltd (OSH.AX), is part of a $ 13 billion project to double the country's LNG exports.
"However, the state has reserved the right to discuss a short list of topics to discuss with developers," Kua said in a statement sent via email.
"We believe that what we have discussed and agreed is favorable and will not affect the general economic and budgetary conditions of the Papua-LNG Agreement.
He added that the finalization of the details should not take more than two weeks.
Report by Tom Westbrook; Written by Lidia Kelly; Edited by Kenneth Maxwell
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