Assessments

Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape and his wife, Rachel, went on a six-day visit to Australia during July.

Papua New Guinea's new prime minister has pledged to win more benefits for the debt-ridden Pacific country. But doing so could come at the cost of vital foreign revenue streams -- and his political career.

In Papua New Guinea, Reality Will Dim Any Nationalist Dreams

China Development Bank

CHINA DEVELOPMENT BANK

Exxon

EXXON MOBIL CORPORATION

Kumul Petroleum Holdings

Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited

Oil Search

OIL SEARCH LIMITED

Total SA

TOTAL SA

Australia

China

Papua New Guinea

Economics

Politics

Asia-Pacific: Among Great Powers

Papua New Guinea's new prime minister, James Marape, is touting a more nationalist push on resources for his energy- and mineral-rich country and hinting at a rebalance in great power relations, vexing both foreign companies and regional heavyweight Australia. Since taking office in late May, Marape has launched a formal review into a multibillion dollar liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, threatened to seek Chinese help in refinancing the country's $7.9 billion debt and mulled an overhaul of the country's natural resource laws to increase Papua New Guinea's share of revenue.

But despite his ambitious intentions, the eager new leader will find it difficult to take any of these efforts too far, because there's only so much the small resource- and aid-dependent Pacific country can push the envelope without jeopardizing its political stability and primary income streams.

ASSESSMENTS

In Papua New Guinea, Reality Will Dim Any Nationalist Dreams