Future of government shareholding in Oil Search revealed next month, former planning minister guilty of corruption, BHP sees long-term future in gas and other local and regional stories.

Oil Search will find out next month if the PNG government can raise US$1.68 billion to avoid giving up its 14.6% stake in the company to an Abu Dhabi state-owned wealth fund, which could then expose the company to a takeover tilt. If the PNG government is forced to give up its stake in Oil Search, analysts say ExxonMobil, France’s Total or Royal Dutch Shell may attempt a takeover. PNG is said to be sounding out UBS, Citigroup and Barclays to advise on refinancing.

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A former Papua New Guinea planning minister and Pomio MP, Paul Tiensten, has been found guilty of misappropriating US$3.6 million dollars. It’s believed to be the first successful result from the operation Task Force Sweep, set up to expose corruption.

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BHP Billiton CEO Andrew Mackenzie predicts gas will one day overtake iron ore as its biggest earner. BHP and joint venture partner ExxonMobil have approval to build the world’s largest floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) operation in north Western Australia.

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Public Enterprise Minister Ben Micah says a new hydro power station will be built in Mendi, Southern Highlands Province, under a public-private partnership between PNG Power and Niugini Asset Management. He said the station would be completed within 18 months. PNG Power CEO John Tangit said the new power plant will produce 20 megawatts of power.

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The value of Newcrest Mining dropped to a 10-year low of A$6.3 bllion after shares fell 26 cents to A$8.26. More job losses are expected at its Telfer operation in Western Australia.

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The Autonomous Bougainville Government has passed legislation designed to balance economic development with the needs of the local people. Local lawyer and Director of the Small Business Development Corporation, Hubert Namani, says the laws will encourage foreign investment, protect genuine investors and locals from  fly-by-night companies.

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The country’s first Fashion Week began in Port Moresby on Wednesday, 27 November, at the newly opened Cosmopolitan Club. The event is organised by Fiji-based Fiji Fashion Week Company, whose Managing Director Ellen Whippy-Knight says she wants to raise of Pacific fashion. The week will highlight the work of PNG Iankala, a fashion house run by local designer Sarah Todd from Lae. Chairman of CPL Group, Mahesh Patel, says fashion as retail business is important for any economy and Papua New Guinea is no different.

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Fiji’s Export Council has released a paper arguing for a direct shipping route between Fiji and PNG. The Council says it is uneconomical and time-consuming to continue the Suva-Auckland-Sydney-Singapore-Port Moresby route. It is unlikely that the Fiji to PNG route will experience any empty backhaul, the council says.

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A banking conference in Sydney has been told branchless banking in the Pacific is allowing thousands of people to have a bank account for the first time. Tony Westaway, the managing director of the region’s largest microbank, Nationwide Microbank in PNG, praised PNG’s central bank for supporting the concept. John Arahuri, the head of rural banking in government-owned National Bank in Vanuatu says the bank has already opened 15,000 accounts.

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It’s not the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, or proof of Atlantis, but the discovery of several penis-shaped objects in Papua New Guinea has archaeologists very excited. The penis-shaped objects are made from volcanic black glass—known as obsidian—and are at least 3,000 years old, but could be up to 6,000 years old. According to the Australia Museum’s Dr Robin Torrence, the findings could shed new light on the history and origins of the the Pacific region’s ancient civilisations.

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