More than K110 million has been paid to the Department of Petroleum and Energy (DPE) in 2014 as royalties for impacted landowners of the PNG LNG Project.
According to the PNG Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative’s (EITI) 2014 Report, US$39.8 million (K119.4 million) has been paid to DPE.
The report also confirms that the payment is currently held in a trust account and has not been distributed due to uncertainties over the identity of rightful beneficiaries. This situation still remains for many landowners.
Early this month, acting DPE Secretary, Kepsie Puiye, said pipeline landowners in Central Province would receive their royalties after clearance is given by the State Solicitor’s Office.
This follows a threat by landowners to shut operations at the PNG LNG Plant Site after delay in payments, despite them completing due processes in formalising all beneficiaries.
The 2014 EITI Report is the first to record consolidated information on payments and receipts of revenues related to the PNG LNG project.
Currently, the PNG EITI is compiling both the 2015 and 2016 reports, which will also reveal how much in royalties have been paid to the DPE and held in Trust.