New Petroleum Engineering School Launched at PNG's University of Technology

A new chapter has opened in Papua New Guinea's push for local content in the resource sector, after the PNG University of Technology unveiled its School of Petroleum Engineering during a ceremony in Lae.

The initiative, launched personally by Prime Minister James Marape, is designed to give Papua New Guineans the qualifications needed to take up senior technical roles in an industry that has traditionally leaned on overseas expertise.

 New Petroleum Engineering School Launched at PNG's University of Technology

Addressing the gathering, Vice Chancellor Professor Ora Renagi explained that establishing the school was not a symbolic gesture but a practical answer to workforce shortages already being felt across the petroleum and energy sector.

According to Professor Renagi, enrolment for the university's new Bachelor of Petroleum Engineering with Honours programme will open for the first time in 2027, giving prospective students roughly a year to prepare their applications.

Marape, speaking after the vice chancellor, said his government intended to keep backing Unitech financially and institutionally so that its qualifications carry weight not just domestically but across the region, citing Australia and New Zealand as examples of markets where PNG graduates should be able to compete.

The event drew a large crowd of students, academic staff and residents of Lae, many of whom stayed on to view the facilities earmarked for the new programme.

Before the ceremony wrapped up, Professor Renagi left attendees with a reminder of why the school exists in the first place.

"With major projects underway and more planned, PNG must train its own engineers to lead and sustain the industry," he said.