Company investor and public relations vice president Anesti Dermedgoglou told PNGIndustryNews.net - a PNN sister publication - that a report on Tuesday "significantly misrepresents the facts and should be rejected in its entirety".
PNG Government Chief Secretary Isaac Lupari expressed concern over misleading stories in the media, adding that while the government had received a draft project agreement from the JV, the agreement did not contain provisions that would grant InterOil and its partners exclusivity on LNG developments for a 50-year period, reported the Post-Courier.
"Liquid Niugini Gas Ltd is seeking to develop an LNG processing plant near the Napa Napa Refinery, and will seek to acquire the land necessary for this development via the normal government processes," said Lupari.
"In no way is the state prepared to give any exclusivity rights for either LNG processing or land use to one commercial entity."
InterOil's JV with Merrill Lynch and Clarion Finance is looking at a possibly two-train plant capable of producing up to 9 million tonnes per annum.
InterOil had said it expected the facility, which would be next to its existing refinery, to start supplying LNG by 2012.
