PAPUA New Guinea’s parliament has unanimously passed four legislative amendments tied to the Papua LNG project, a step Prime Minister James Marape said would help unlock an estimated $US14.5 billion in foreign investment.

Marape said the passage marked a major milestone as countries compete for international capital amid challenging investment conditions.

“The government is now committed to progressing the project towards a final investment decision.”

The bills were the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill 2026, Resource Contracts Fiscal Stabilisation (Amendment) Bill 2026, Oil and Gas (Amendment) Bill 2026, and Stamp Duties (Amendment) Bill 2026.

The prime minister said the amendments gave effect to negotiated fiscal arrangements, but did not include permanent reductions in headline corporate income tax or production levy rates.

Instead, he said, a price-linked benefit-sharing mechanism uses a neutral benchmark of $US81 per barrel, providing temporary support when oil prices are low and an additional premium to the state when prices strengthen. The incentive and premium are each capped at $US1.95 billion.

Marape said the government had also secured additional PNG LNG benefits, including improved royalty calculations, domestic gas pricing arrangements, discounted gas for community power generation at Caution Bay, and an option to acquire an additional 2.5 per cent participating interest in Papua LNG.

He said landowner, provincial government, and local-level government royalty and development levy entitlements remained fully protected.

“Our Government has worked hard to strike the right balance between attracting major international investment and protecting the interests of Papua New Guinea,” Marape said.

He said the expected investment would create employment opportunities, support local businesses, drive infrastructure development, and boost economic growth, particularly in Gulf and Central provinces.

Marape thanked parliamentarians for their unanimous support and commended Petroleum Minister Jimmy Maladina for steering the bills through parliament.

He also acknowledged successive political leaders, the State Negotiating Team, government departments and agencies, provincial leaders, landowners, project partners Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited and Mineral Resources Development Company, and TotalEnergies Chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné and ExxonMobil Chairman and CEO Darren Woods.

“With Parliament unanimously supporting these four bills, we have taken another major step forward,” Marape said.

“We must now maintain momentum and ensure Papua LNG delivers lasting benefits for our people and future generations.”