Australia's third largest oil and gas firm Oil Search has insisted that there is a "big future" ahead for workers in Papua New Guinea as the company invests heavily in new liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in the country.

In its annual report for 2008, Oil Search pledged to invest in improving the labour skills of the nation's workforce to ensure that local communities can benefit from the expansive LNG projects planned in the country.

"Revenues received by government and landowners will enable the implementation of a range of social programmes and infrastructure development, including schools, hospitals, police stations, roads and bridges," the company stated.

During the construction phase, the PNG LNG project will create 7,500 jobs, while 850 permanent positions will be available once the facilities become operational.

Some 90 per cent of the operational jobs are expected to be held by PNG nationals.

The project is operated by ExxonMobil and comprises both upstream gas facilities and downstream processing and liquefaction plants.

Getenergy Exploration and Production News