Whilst there is potential for growth and opportunities within Papua New Guinea’s mineral petroleum and energy sectors, security challenges remain a cause for concern, particularly in certain regions of the country. This is according to the Papua New Guinea Chamber of Resources & Energy (PNG CORE), when presenting at the recent Business Council of PNG 2025 Praivet Gavamani Konekt session on protecting PNG businesses. PNG CORE Manager Policy and Analysis, Gretel Orake, provided an overview of the industry, and its outlook on security as well as the efforts that the industry is making to deal with them. “As the peak organization representing the mineral petroleum and energy sectors, we recognize the important role of security in the success of projects. In terms of law & order for all projects, safe and secure communities translate to safe projects whereas this relationship is critical for shared success.” “We note that there have been instances of a breakdown in law & order, which have in turn affected project security in recent times.” She added that, much of these have been due to tribal conflicts, landowner disputes, as well as increasing instances of illegal mining which have all had an effect on projects. “As an industry, we remain committed to working with all stakeholders to deal with these challenges, through constant engagement at the community, district, provincial and national levels.” Whilst individual projects engage with the respective levels of government where they operate, PNG CORE acknowledges the need for industry to continue engaging in strategic areas. Some of these strategic measures include Community Engagement and Negotiations, Infrastructure and Social Services Restoration, Legal and Policy Advocacy, as well as contributing to the local economy through job creation, local hires, and community development programs. Orake stated that these are just some of the measures taken to support the restoration of law & order, in areas where there have been challenges. “We continuously work with stakeholders to ensure that security concerns from our members are dealt with in a timely manner so that operations can continue without disruption, and in turn contribute meaningfully to communities where they operate.” “This is critical, especially as we prepare to celebrate our nation’s 50th Independence Anniversary.”