Account opening set to start

THE Petroleum Development Licence No. 7 (PDL 7) landowners of the PNG LNG project in Hela are a step closer to receiving their benefits from the project.
The process to open bank accounts for clans who are beneficiaries of PDL 7 area in Komo is set to start this week.
Officials from Mineral Resources Development Company (MRDC) are there to carry out the exercise.
According to MRDC, on completion of this process, the concerned landowners would begin receiving their share of royalty and equity benefits from the project.
PDL 7, also known as Hides 4, is where the conditioning plant for the PNG LNG project is located.
The four main activities MRDC and its stakeholder partners were organising were carrying out an awareness on the process of clan account opening and election of directors for the landowner company, issuing of clan benefit certificates, opening of clan bank accounts and election of board of directors for the landowner company.
The landowner trust company for the PDL 7 landowners will be known as Gas Resources Hides 4 Limited.
The four major clan groups that were identified as beneficiaries under section 169 of the Oil and Gas Act were Parepare Ketereanda, Tawanda Tokaju, Timalia Kangulu and Middle region.
The Tuguba clan groups identified as beneficiaries in PDL 7 were left out of the bank account opening process because of a dispute against the ministerial determination which was registered in the National Court and is pending a hearing.
MRDC managing director Augustine Mano said once that dispute was resolved, the bank account opening would proceed.
“It is important that we include all the identified beneficiaries in this exercise,” he said.
“But where there is a dispute, this dispute must be resolved amicably first.”
Mano said he expected the entire exercise at PDL 7 in Komo to take three weeks.