First group’s ID process ‘done’

By CLARISSA MOI
Petroleum development licence (PDL) 1 in the Hides area of Hela has completed its landowner beneficiaries’ identification (Lobid) process, while PDL 7 will be completed by tomorrow, says Petroleum Minister Dr Fabian Pok.
He said that this process was to identify beneficiaries for PDL 1 and PDL 7 in the PNG LNG project site and not to determine percentage of cash benefits.
“I thank everybody in PDL 1 for completing,” Pok said.
“I would like PDL 7 to complete theirs by Friday, so next week, all the landowners in Port Moresby or elsewhere go back to Hides.”
The Lobid exercise, formerly known as clan-vetting, is an important prerequisite for a ministerial determination under section 169A of the Oil and Gas Act.
Pok earlier said the main outcome from this Lobid exercise would be formal determination of PNG LNG project area landowners.
They will be formally accepted as beneficiaries and be legitimately recognised as recipients of direct cash benefits – royalty and equity (dividends).
Pok said there were some arguments over percentages of cash benefits determined by the umbrella benefit-sharing agreement (UBSA) signed in Kokopo.
“Once the clan-vetting is done, and leaders have been appointed by each clan to represent them, those leaders can get together and work out the percentages for the people if they want to, for their people,” he said.
“Clan-vetting is not to determine the percentages.
“Clan-vetting is to identify who are the landowners.
“Once we identify the landowners, they will go back to appoint leaders who will represent them in the landowner company.”
Pok said leadership of the landowner company would rotate every three years so everybody had a chance to become chairman of the company.
He told The National yesterday that he would make an announcement before going up to Hides and display the landowner groupings.
Once agreed upon, he will then sign the ministerial determination in Hides.
“I would like to urge all the landowners to go up there and let’s complete the process,” Pok said.
“I thank all the leaders for their support.
“We are doing this for people on the ground who have suffered for the past 10 years or so.”
The Government, through the then Department of Petroleum and Energy (now Department of Petroleum), since 2013 began the exercise to ensure correct project beneficiaries were identified.