Clan vetting hard, says minister

PETROLEUM and Energy Minister Kerenga Kua says it is hard identifying landowners for resource projects, particularly oil and gas projects in the country.
Kua told Parliament on Friday that identifying genuine landowners as project beneficiaries required thorough studies.
Goilala MP Casmiro Aia questioned Kua why MPs in project areas were not allowed to be part of the initial negotiations for project developments.
He referred to the Elk-Antelope gas fields (Papua LNG) in Gulf and activities along the border with Central.
Kua said operator Total Energies had completed clan vetting and was now into verifications with stakeholders.
“In PNG, due to our land tenure system, it is not easy,” Kua said.
“Things have to require careful study. It is a sensitive issue.
“No matter what the project company says in its own studies, no matter what my department says in subsequent verification studies, there is always a contest.
“Some of these contests may last for years because it is not an easy landscape and we do our best to make sure that we include people as widely as possible, so we reduce the friction.”