Twinza Oil (PNG) to progress Pasca LNG project, Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister has said that a Supplementary Budget may be announced within the next few weeks, and the Coral Sea Cable project is nearing completion. Your weekly digest of business news.
Credit: Twinza Oil
On Friday, PNG’s Minister for Petroleum, Kerenga Kua, released a statement to announce the signing of the Ministerial Determination that allows Twinza Oil (PNG) to progress the Pasca LNG project, which is in the Gulf of Papua. This is the first underwater gas field in PNG.
Kua said: ‘As required by legislation, a development forum will still need to take place but the site is beyond the fishing grounds of the Gulf people so after the legal checks and social mapping the State Solicitor’s Office has deemed that there are no landowners. However, the signing of this ministerial determination now allows the benefits sharing process between the Gulf Provincial Government and the National Government to move ahead.’ (Minister for Petroleum)
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Last week, Prime Minister James Marape told Parliament that there could be a Supplementary Budget coming up ‘in the next one or two weeks’. He also mentioned that before 16 September (PNG’s Independence Day), he will make more announcements ‘as to how we take this country forward’. (Post-Courier)
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The Coral Sea Cable landed in Sydney, Australia, on 28 August. The high-speed internet project is on track to be completed by December 2019. In a statement, Marise Payne, Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women said: ‘With the Australian landing completed today, the cable laying ship Ile de Brehat will soon return to [the] Solomon Islands to lay a separate 730km submarine cable linking Honiara to the provincial centres of Auki, Noro and Taro.’ (Minister for Foreign Affairs)
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After a slurry leakage from the Basamuk Refinery to Basamuk Harbour on 24 August, the Vice-President of Ramu NiCo Management Ltd, Wang Baowen, said the problem has been resolved and operational systems restored. The company’s Health, Safety and Environment Department is collecting data to determine the cause of the environmental incident. (Post-Courier)
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Prime Minister Marape announced in a recent visit to Goroka that his government is planning to develop special tax-free zones to help to improve agricultural productivity. (EMTV)
NKW Directors (left) seal the deal for the sale of NCS’ share in the Hidden Valley catering and camp management operation with Anitua’s Daniel Kaima and Mark Soipang, and NCS’s Director Ben Misren.
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Nine hundred boxes of kaukau (sweet potato) from Morobe Province will be exported to Singapore thanks to a partnership between PNG Eden Fertilizer, Morobe Provincial Government and the Ahi Group of Companies. It’s been reported that this is the first time in PNG’s history that sweet potato has been exported. (Post-Courier)
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NCS Holdings Ltd has sold its share of the Hidden Valley operation (which services the Wafi-Golpu mining project) to joint venture partner NKW Holdings. The two landowner companies finalised the agreement after a partnership that lasted 15 years. Mark Soipang, Director of NCS’ parent company the Anitua Group, said: ‘The acquisition by NKW of our interest in NCS Hidden Valley Ltd marks a significant milestone in our relationship with the landowners of the Hidden Valley mine. When this relationship commenced 15 years ago, it was the intention of both NCS and NKW to work together over time to position NKW as an established business partner with the developer of the mine.’ (Anitua Group)
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Starting 30 September, PNG Air, through its codeshare agreement with Virgin Australia, will offer passengers who are travelling from Port Moresby to Brisbane the option to travel onward to Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. PNG Air passengers travelling to Brisbane on codeshare flights operated by Virgin Australia will now earn Velocity Points and Status Credits. (PNG Air)
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Kina Securities Limited has recorded strong results for the first half of 2019. According a statement, Kina has achieved a statutory net profit after tax of K23.6 million, 14 per cent more than the same period last year. (PNGX)
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Photograph of the week
During the Ok Tedi Mining‘s 35th anniversary, its Managing Director and CEO, Peter Graham, said that the company has generated over K21 billion since it started production in 1984. ‘Ok Tedi on the world stage is a significant player,’ he said. The company revealed in a statement that so far it has produced 5 million tonnes of copper, 15 million ounces of gold and 33 million ounces of silver since commencement of production in August 1984. (Ok Tedi Mining)
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As required by legislation that the site is beyond the fishing grounds of the gulf people after the legal checks and social mapping and the state Solicitor’s Office has deemed that there are no landowners and allows the benefits sharing process between the Gulf Provincial Government and the National Government to move ahead is not fair enough to the people of Gulf. This billion kina project bilongs to the surrounding people and places around the project area and regardless of what they should be the land owners to and benefit from that project and also our government should involve them in the agreement signing because this is what the nature has bless them and given to them, unless we citizens of PNG,Gulf and the world knows and are aware that the Project area is a no mens land in the past till now ,if not i can say that this current government is not following the right track to take back PNG whatever given to the people by nature must go back to the people. stop fooling the people