Hides PDL 7

The negotiations, which began last Wednesday after the landowners locked the gates to some well pads and the Hides Gas Conditioning Plant, ended with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding yesterday between the state and landowners of PDL 1 and 7.

The MoU basically sets out a way forward for the government and the landowners to achieve their objectives within the next 30 days.

The 30-day period starts today. The employees of the Department of Petroleum and Energy will start the clan vetting process to identify landowners of these two PDL areas.

Petroleum and Energy Minister Nixon Duban announced this to frustrated landowners today during the signing of a MoU between the government and landowners of PDL 1 and PDL 7.

He said after consultation with the Prime Minister, he has agreed to pay them the money within 7 days.

With this, he called on landowners to reopen gates to well pads and the conditioning plant.

PDL 7 landowner representative, Andy Hamaga, and PDL 1 spokesman, Larry Andagali, gave their undertaking to open the gates today.

This was to address some of the issues raised in the 20-point petition presented to the government two weeks ago.

While the details of the MoU will soon be made known to the media, preparations are now underway to sign another MoU with the Hides PDL 1 landowners.

Managing Director of MRDC, Augustine Mano, was satisfied with the outcome of their negotiations with landowners and welcomed the signing.

Spokesperson Andy Hamaga, in highlighting some of the main points included in the petition, has called for the 4.27 percent equity to be given to the landowners free of charge.

They have opposed the idea of a beneficiary group – that includes the five provincial governments – to seek and buy those shares on behalf of them.

They claim the National Executive Council has charged them one billion US dollars to buy back those shares and this is too expensive for them to meet.

They therefore want that equity, now being held by Kumul Petroleum, to be given to them free.

Some of the demands on the placards read "No Kandakasi team in Hides PDLs 1, 7 &9. ADR step down".

The main issues the landowners now seem to have is the payment of royalties.

In one of the placards, the landowners claim there is no landowner issue and they want their monies to be paid.

They also demand to know how much of their royalties are now being kept in trust accounts.

Talks have now started as landowner spokesman Andy Hamaga has taken to the podium to set the stage for talks to be held.

He said PDL 1 landowners will join as well because he claims the Government has taken six-and-a-half years, since the signing of the final LBBSA agreement (Dec 7, 2009), to kick-start the PNG LNG Project.

Andagali says the Government has turned a “blind eye” on its people through the slow clan vetting and landowner identification process.

He said the provincial government supported an NEC-approved “beneficiary group” to negotiate and manage the 4.27 percent Kroton equity, which does not represent the PDL1 landowners’ interest.