Kerenga Kua

Minister Kua said a National Court injunction taken out by the Purari Development Association is preventing Papua LNG Project lead developer Total, from presenting him the Social Mapping and Landowner Identification (SMLI) Report.

Kua said with the signinig of the Fiscal Stability Agreement, they can now focus on addressing the court injunction, and begin working with landowners from both Gulf Province, which hosts Papua LNG, and Central Province.

Minister for Petroleum, Kerenga Kua, said he was recently informed of this in a letter by Government Stakeholders.

Minister Kua revealed this during the benefit rollout announcement in Kikori Station, in Gulf Province.

During the benefit rollout for Segment 7 of the PNG LNG Project Pipeline Landowners, Petroleum Minister, Kerenga Kua, revealed that the PNG LNG Project Agreement is well over due for a review.

The PNG LNG Project Agreement was signed in May 2008.

The Benefit rollout is the first since the signing of the Umbrella benefit Sharing Agreement (UBSA) in 2009 and the first flow through and shipment of LNG in 2014.

This follows the completion of landowner identification, the opening of clan bank accounts, and the election of directors to the board of their landowner company.

It was a historic occasion with Petroleum Minister, Kerenga Kua, and Gulf Governor, Chris Haiveta, accompanying Mineral Resources Development Company (MRDC) Managing Director, Augustine Mano, to announce the benefit roll out in Kikori on Wednesday.

Petroleum Minister, Kerenga Kua clarified this in parliament today when questioned why ExxonMobil continued discussions on the Pnyang Project when the PRL License expired.

North Fly MP, James Donald, raised a series of questions in parliament.

One of them was to clarify why ExxonMobil was allowed to negotiate on the P’nyang Project when the PRL the hold expired.

“Can the Minister confirm or deny the PRL license gas expirzed and so ExxonMobil is unlawfully holding onto the license?” asked Donald.

Petroleum Minister, Kerenga Kua, said this when responding to Western Province leaders who announced the withdrawal of their support from the P’nyang Project.

Over the weekend, Western Province Governor, Taboi Awi Yoto, and North Fly MP, James Donald, announced they were withdrawing their support from the P’nyang Gas Project negotiations.

They claim the province’s interests were not incorporated into the main frame Term Sheet by the State Negotiating Team (SNT).

Hides landowners have been waiting for over 25 years for their royalties. NCDC Governor Powes Parkop made this point in Parliament yesterday (Nov 26) afternoon when asking the Petroleum Minister, Kerenga Kua, about the progress of the LNG Project.

“Mi been lawyer blo ol landowners involve lo PDL 1-4 back in 1994. And many of these landowners i no kisim royalty blo ol inap i kam now. Because yumi gim excuse olsem i no gat social mapping na second olsem ol landowners i kot. Mi laik askim: What is the status of all these royalties? Social mapping em completed or not?”

In a statement, the Minister called on the public to respect the process of the Public Service Commission (PSC) in making the selection.

His statement comes after malicious comments were made in the media last week about public servants who were allegedly shortlisted by the Public Service Commission.

Minister Kua said political interference in the past has eroded Government systems and processes and he would like to see that this government avoids this trap.

Kua also commended the appointment of Sam Koim, former Task Force Sweep head, as Counsel assisting the COI. 

He says former Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia comes to this job with a substantial experience and integrity and would do an excellent job in the Inquiry. 

He dismissed any insinuations of bias on the part of the former Chief Justice in this appointment, especially those raised by former Prime Minister Peter O’Neill. 

Kua says Sir Salamo is a very experienced Judge and knows enough to compartmentalise issues. 

His question during the recent Parliament session was directed to the Minister for Petroleum, Kerenga Kua, who said industry legislations will be looked at carefully because these are billion-dollar industries.

Minister Kua said the first task that his Ministry has taken to is the Papua LNG Gas agreement.

This is to deal with the Opposition’s Vote of No Confidence motion which was filed on May 7^th.

Despite parliament adjourning to May 28^th, the Opposition has asked the Speaker to recall parliament to deal with their Vote of No Confidence motion.

“But if you can all remember Supreme Court ruling of 2016, court ruled that a notice of motion to remove the Prime Minister is not an ordinary motion under the standing order,” clarified Kua.