Landowners threaten to shut down gas plant

PAPUA NEW GUINEA – A government delegation is due in Papua New Guinea’s Hela province to respond to disgruntled Highlands landowners threatening a shutdown of the country’s major LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) project. The project’s gas conditioning plant in the hides area of this highlands province remains locked out by landowners protesting that the government owes them five years worth of project commitments worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The project developer ExxonMobil said its facilities were “continuing to operate” and that it was “monitoring the peaceful protest” in Hela. A deployment of extra police to Hela from the capital in recent days is a sign that the government is concerned about the landowner threat. The government’s initial response to the current protest did not satisfy the landowners. Stanley Mamu from LNG Watch said a government deleg

ation made a brief trip to Hela on Wednesday to talk with the landowners, and were expected back in Hela yesterday with an ultimate response to their grievances.

“If the government cannot satisfy their petition, they will forcefully go inside and close down wellheads – it’s the well tap that supplies the gas.”

Overnight, it emerged that more landowner groups from LNG Project areas in neighbouring Southern Highlands province have joined the Hela landowners in their protest.

Moran and Gobe landowners have also launched their own conditional demand for the government to make outstanding payments of royalties they claim are owed to them.

They have signed a demand paper giving a 21 day-ultimatum as of August 10 for the government to honour its outstanding commitments of around 14 million US dollars.

It’s not the first time that landowners in this Highlands region have obstructed the project over their grievances over commitments or royalties owed however, this time the landowners appear less willing to accept the government response.

250 LNG shipments have reportedly been made since the project started exports two years ago, but landowners in four petroleum development license areas of Hela say they are yet to be paid as the founding project agreement.

“This sort of gate closure, we’ve never experienced that, from the beginning of the LNG Project until now,” Mamu said.

He said the proliferation of firearms among some Hela landowners was also a concern, especially with PNG security forces looming as a response to the Hides protest.

On Tuesday, the Minister of Petroleum and Energy Nixon Duban said delays in payments to the landowners in the Hela LNG area were due to complications over identifying genuine landowners.

He said paying royalties to the wrong people would have consequences which the government wanted to avoid.

In parliament yesterday, the prime minister Peter O’Neill said that all outstanding payments will be made to the landowners, but didn’t give a time frame.

Exxon meanwhile said it respected the right of individuals to peacefully protest, but also encouraged “continued dialogue between landowners and the government to resolve their outstanding issues promptly”.

- RNZI