Department of Petroleum and Energy (DPE)

Government relations lead, Peter Woyengu, informed this newsroom that the inspection will find out if any maintenance is required.

He said a routine wellhead inspection and maintenance exercise was scheduled for next month (April) however, it was brought forward as a result of the recent earthquake.

Woyengu said this is a requirement of the Department of Petroleum and Energy (DPE). 

He stated that any matter of concern will be reported directly to the DPE in accordance with the Oil & Gas Act requirements and other government authorities as required.

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.

Acting Secretary for the Department of Petroleum and Energy, Kepsie Puiye, tells Loop PNG that process is ongoing and amendments could be made to sections of the act, such as the benefit streams.

He said current potential off-shore gas projects such as ‘Pasca’, which lies within the periphery of the Gulf Province boundary, would see a change in how benefits are shared between the Province and the state.