The executive management team of Kumul Petroleum Holdings in early July visited two construction sites where the company is building important infrastructure to support the long-term provision of increased national content and essential services in the country.
Currently under construction are the Motukea Fuel Facility, adjacent to the Motukea International Wharf, and the Training and Fabrication Facility in the Caution Bay area, close to the LNG plant site.
“These strategic construction projects demonstrate Kumul Petroleum’s commitment to national development. The Training and Fabrication Facility fulfils all the necessary elements for increased national content — workforce development through enhanced training and supplier development through new local manufacturing capability,” of Kumul Petroleum Managing Director Wapu Sonk stated.
Sonk noted that with the development of significant gas fields and mining projects planned over the next few years, upwards of 300,000 tonnes of structural, mechanical and piping modules, tanks and other steel fabrication will be required.
The fabrication facility, on the other hand, will have the capacity to produce up to 20,000 tonnes of steel components per year, directly employ 1,000 people and indirectly support another 2,000 through service contractors.
At the Motukea Fuel Facility, Sonk said that “This Jet A1 import and storage facility is a long-term initiative to ensure that a fuel supply crisis cannot occur again. It is a continuation of Kumul Petroleum’s commitment to the Government when it stepped up to facilitate fuel imports and address the fuel supply crisis in early 2024.”
The Motukea facility consists of four 3,000-cubic metre Jet A1 fuel tanks, along with associated ship offloading and truck loading equipment, and safety and environmental control facilities. It is expected to be completed by the end of the year and become operational in early 2026.
“The construction of this infrastructure reflects our long-term commitment to national content development in Papua New Guinea,” Sonk said. “By investing in training and fabrication facilities, we are investing in the future of our country."
