THE PROPOSED ACQUISITION OF ADDITIONAL 22 PERCENT PARTICIPATING INTEREST IN PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT LICENCE NO.10 AND PIPELINE LICENCE NO. 10 BY KUMUL GAS NIUGINI B.V.
The Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (“ICCC”) wishes to inform the general public and relevant industry stakeholders that it has commenced public consultations on the Clearance Application lodged by Kumul Gas Niugini B.V. (“KGN”), for its proposal to acquire additional 22 percent participating interest in the Petroleum Development Licence No. 10 (PDL 10) and Petroleum Pipeline Licence No.10 (PL 10) from Arran Energy (Niugini) Pty Limited (“AENPL”) (the “Proposed Acquisition”).
The ICCC hereby invites submissions and comments from interested stakeholders on any likely adverse competition effects the Proposed Acquisition may have on the Oil and Gas Sector in PNG. All submissions provided to the ICCC will be treated as public information unless a specific request for confidentiality is expressly made
KGN is incorporated in the Netherlands and registered in Papua New Guinea (“PNG”) as an overseas company. It is wholly owned by Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited (“KPHL”), the national petroleum company of the Independent State of PNG. KGN’s primary purpose is to hold KPHL’s participating interests in PDL 10.
AENPL is registered in PNG as an overseas company and is part of the Trans Wonderland Limited (“TWL”) Group of Companies, a local landowner-owned business group. AENPL is the operator of the Stanley Gas Project in the Western Province of PNG. The Stanley Gas project is undertaken within PDL 10 and PL 10 (collectively referred to as PDL 10).
AENPL currently holds a 90 percent participating interest in PDL 10 (which includes PL 10), while KGN holds the remaining 10 percent participating interest. According to the Clearance Application, KGN proposes to acquire 22 percent of AENPL’s participating interest in PDL 10. Following completion of the proposed transaction, KGN’s total participating interest in PDL 10 will increase to 32 percent.
KGN has sought Clearance from the ICCC pursuant to Section 81 of the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission Act 2002 (“ICCC Act”), as the value of the Proposed Acquisition exceeds the statutory threshold of K50 million.
All comments and submissions should be addressed to Mr. Roy Daggy, Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer, at the address provided below and must reach the ICCC by or before Friday, 06th March 2026.
The non-confidential version of the Clearance Application can be accessed and downloaded from the ICCC website: www.iccc.gov.pg.
All queries relating to this matter should be directed to Mr. Steven Sugl, Executive Manager – Competition Law Enforcement Division, on telephone 312 4600 or e-mail to: ssugl@iccc.gov.pg.