Concessions & Licences

Concession and Licence-Based Investment Pathways

Access to Papua New Guinea’s natural resources — including minerals, petroleum, gas, forestry, and marine resources — is governed through concession and licence-based regulatory frameworks. These frameworks define the terms under which private investors may explore, develop, and extract natural resources within PNG’s sovereign territory.

InvestPNG presents concession and licence opportunities that have been assessed for regulatory status, fiscal clarity, and institutional readiness.

Regulatory Process

Each resource sector in PNG operates under sector-specific legislation administered by the relevant regulatory authority:

• Mining — governed by the Mining Act, administered by the Mineral Resources Authority (MRA), covering exploration licences, mining leases, and alluvial mining permits
• Petroleum and gas — governed by the Oil and Gas Act, administered by the Department of Petroleum and Energy, covering petroleum prospecting licences, development licences, and pipeline licences
• Forestry — governed by the Forestry Act, administered by the PNG Forest Authority, covering timber permits and forest management agreements
• Fisheries — governed by the Fisheries Management Act, administered by the National Fisheries Authority, covering fishing licences and access agreements

Each regulatory pathway involves defined application processes, technical assessment requirements, environmental impact obligations, and stakeholder consultation procedures.

Fiscal Terms and State Participation

PNG’s concession frameworks include defined fiscal terms that vary by sector and project scale. These typically encompass royalty obligations, tax arrangements, development levies, and provisions for state equity participation. The specific fiscal terms applicable to each opportunity are outlined within the InvestPNG investment brief and are subject to the relevant legislation and any applicable fiscal stability agreements.

State equity provisions — whereby the PNG government or its nominee entities may acquire equity interests in resource projects — apply across the mining and petroleum sectors and are a standard feature of the regulatory framework.

Environmental and Social Obligations

All concession and licence holders are subject to environmental compliance requirements, including environmental impact assessment, environmental management plans, and ongoing monitoring and reporting obligations. Social obligations include landowner compensation arrangements, community development commitments, and workforce localisation requirements.

These obligations are assessed within InvestPNG’s readiness framework under the ESG pillar. Active concession and licence opportunities are listed in the Investment Pipeline. For enquiries, contact InvestPNG.