‘Deal with umbrella companies’

LANDOWNERS of the Beneria LNG gas pipeline in the Komo-Margarima district, Southern Highlands, have called on the state and developers not to engage in deals with individual landowner companies.
Beneria Jakale Pipeline Holdings Ltd chairman, George Hato said such actions would only create more problems.
He said the few individual landowner companies formed in Port Moresby had been going around engaging in talks and business deals with the state and developer.
“This is not proper because we, the landowners, have not formed an umbrella company for the entire Beneria pipeline,” Hato said last week.
“The Beneria people have not decided on any individual company representing us.
“We are still waiting for every party to come together and form an umbrella company.”
He called on the developers, ExxonMobil and Oil Search, the Department of Petroleum and Energy, village chiefs, church elders and pastors and all landowner companies from the area to meet in Beneria and agree to an umbrella company for the pipeline landowners.
Hato said he did not want a repetition of a tribal encounter over the ownership of the Northwest Moran oil project where 23 lives were lost.
He called on the state, especially the Department of Commerce and Industry, to settle all outstanding business deve­lopment grants before work starts.
He said the 4,500 people of the Pala­kala and Jarala council wards, who owned the Beneria segment 2 pipeline area, had not benefited from any go­vernment grants.
He said the beneficiaries had been four other companies that had each received K500,000 from the K7.4 million allocated.
“No work will start until the business grants are paid.”