Redundancies at Petromin Holdings ahead of restructure, LNG price slump may go further, and Santos confident its share price will rise. Your weekly digest of the latest business news.

Petromin Holdings is making 50% of its staff redundant as a result of low oil prices. In a statement, Managing Director, Thomas Abe, said Petromin would change its name to Kumul Minerals Holdings Ltd at beginning 2016. Meanwhile the Managing Director of the National Petroleum Company, Wapu Sonk, says the company will not be restructured after it becomes Kumul Petroleum Holdings, as it had already undertaken changes in 2014.

***

Petromiin’s Thomas Abe.

The slump in LNG prices still has further to go, after plunging 60% from last year’s peak, according to global energy consultants, FGE. They say LNG prices may sink as low as $US4 mmbtu by 2017 because of a glut and probably won’t rise above $US8 before 2020.

***

Energy producer Santos’ Vice-President, James Baulderstone, says the sharp fall in its share price is unjustified, arguing strong interest in asset sales has given it confidence the company will recover once oil prices rise. Santos’ current value has fallen to A$4.8 billion, although its 13.5% stake in the PNG LNG project is worth about A$6.5 billion alone.

***

Fire danger. Credit: UPNG’s Remote Sensing Centre

Satellite data shows large parts of the country being engulfed by bush fires that could endanger the lives of people living in rural communities. The University of Papua New Guinea’s Remote Sensing Centre data shows bush fires in large swathes of rainforest, savannah and mountainous areas in 10 provinces.

***

Digicel Pacific is to buy regional satellite pay-TV services provider Sky Pacific from Fiji Television for F$5.75 million. Sky Pacific operates in 15 Pacific countries, including PNG.

***

Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill, has signalled a partial back-down on the move to expel Australian consultants and advisers by the end of the year. O’Neill now says he prefers a change to contract officers who can be accountable to his government. Australia has 34 public servants on secondment to the PNG government and over 100 technical advisers in the country.

***

PNG Post selling more than just stamps

Post PNG is moving into online shopping later this month. A new website will offer more than just postage stamps, however. Other retail items for sale will include computers, printers, consumables, vehicle parts, accessories, outboard motor parts and safety gear.

***

Two Morobe landowner companies, Labu Holdings and Ahi Holdings Ltd, have formed a new joint venture called Morobe International Terminal Ltd to bid for terminal management at the new Lae Port Tidal Basin.

***

Port Moresby’s main water supplier, Eda Ranu, has introduced water restrictions, after water levels at the Sirinumu dam, which provides the city’s water supplies, and also powers its hydro-electricity, fell to 45%,

***

Papindo bakers

The Papindo Group of Companies has opened its 42nd supermarket in Wewak, East Sepik. The company began in 1974 and Papindo has diversified to include fast-food operations; clothing, agricultural exports property development, meat-packing and small-goods manufacturing, hotel management and road construction.

***

Bougainville Copper has announced the death of former Company Secretary Paul Coleman.

***

Solomon Islands’ new Attorney-General, James Apaniai, says he is reforming custom landowner trustee appointments to help control irregularities in the logging sector. He says disputes over logging operations that go before the courts revolve around disagreements between customary landowner trustees or trustees and tribes.

***

The government of Vanuatu has set an ambitious target of having 500,000 head of cattle spread across the country by 2025.

***

All-optical data memory:
Credit: C. Rios/Oxford University

And finally, scientists have developed the first all-optical chip memory, paving the way for optical computers. They say all-optical on-chip memories might considerably increase the speed, performance and energy consumption of computers.