K33.7m for Hela clans

News that matter in Papua New Guinea

K33.7m for Hela clans

PORT MORESBY: A group of landowners in Hela will be paid K19.7 million in royalty and equity today (March 11, 2022), plus another K14 million as project component, Prime Minister James Marape says.

“After a long delay, the first ever payment has been made. I commend the landowners and their leaders for assisting the Government, Petroleum Department and the developers by completing their clan-vetting exercise,” he added.

The news break was reported by The National:

K33.7mil for clans

March 11, 2022The NationalMain Stories

Landowners from Hides four in Hela gathering at the Para community school in Komo LLG, Hela yesterday during the announcement of their royalty and equity payments. – Nationalpic by DALE LUMA

A GROUP of landowners in Hela will be paid K19.7 million in royalty and equity today, plus another K14 million as project component, says Prime Minister James Marape.
“After a long delay, the first-ever payment has been made,” Marape said.
“I commend the landowners and their leaders for assisting the Government, Department of Petroleum, and the developers, by completing their clan-vetting exercise.
“The landowners are ready, their accounts are opened, and today K19.7 million will be distributed to their accounts.”
He said the K14 million project component was part of the 30 per cent allocated for project infrastructure.
“Well done to all PDL 7 landowners, and I appeal to PDL 1, PDL 8, PDL 9 and others that are in dispute to solve their in-house matters before they can be paid,” he said.
Mineral Resources Development Company (MRDC) managing director Augustine Mano said the payment was 40 per cent of the K49 million in royalties from 2015 to 2021, and equity from 2015 to 2016.
The PNG LNG project landowners are from the Petroleum Development License Seven (PDL7) in Hides Four.
The good news was relayed to them at a school in the Komo local level government yesterday. The payments will be made into the 277 bank accounts of the various clans for six blocks.
“A ministerial determination has been made for the K19.7 million to be paid into 277 accounts for the six blocks,” Mano said.
“The Bank of Papua New Guinea gave us K31 million last year in royalties. That’s eight years of production.
“Equity, accounts had been audited and for two years, 2015 to 2016, it added almost K18.5 million. So the total is about K49 million in royalty and equity together.”
He said from the K49 million, 40 per cent would be paid into the accounts today, totaling K19.7 million.
Payments for PDL1 is expected soon following the opening of bank accounts for the various clans.
Department of Petroleum and Energy secretary David Manau said PDL 7 was the first upstream PDL in the PNG LNG project to receive the benefits.
Manau said court cases and leadership issues affected payouts in the past.
Hela Governor Philip Undialu said the distribution of the payments must be made in a transparent manner and records kept to avoid rows.
The royalty and equity payments followed the election of six directors from the six blocks, the completion of clan vetting and the opening of the bank accounts.
The benefits had been held in trust by the Bank of PNG.

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