Dialogue urged on Stanley gas plan

 THE Government and Stanley Gas project developer Horizon Oil should hold dialogues with the landowners in Western to enable them to participate effectively in the proposed gas enterprise, Tourism Art and Culture Minister Boka Kondra says.

He mentioned this after committing K100, 000 towards the Stanley Gas Fields landowner association to prepare for proper development negotiations prior to full liquefied natural gas (LNG) operation in 2014. 

Kondra said at a press conference in Port Moresby recently that the government and Horizon Oil must initiate effective dialogues with the landowners to allow them to get involved effectively in the development of the project from..

“The developer must also come and talk with me in relation to the project because I am from the area and I represent the people … I am their voice … let’s start good and finished good so the end result is good,” he said.

Kondra said the project, which would be the second largest project after Ok Tedi in North Fly district, Western, would not be like Ok Tedi, where landowner participation was almost nil.

Present at the conference were representatives of Stanley Resource Investment Limited (SRIL), a local landowner company owned by the association and North Fly District administrator Dume Wo.

SRIL presented a cheque for K200,000 from its profit to the Stanley Gas Landowners’  Association to prepare the association for development negotiations.

Stanley Gas, which will be operated by developer Horizon Oil, is the third liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in PNG.